<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/mar/28/oil-and-gas-fossil-fuels-report>
"The world’s fossil-fuel producers are on track to nearly quadruple the amount
of extracted oil and gas from newly approved projects by the end of this
decade, with the US leading the way in a surge of activity that threatens to
blow apart agreed climate goals, a new report has found.
There can be no new oil and gas infrastructure if the planet is to avoid
careering past 1.5C (2.7F) of global heating, above pre-industrial times, the
International Energy Agency (IEA) has previously stated. Breaching this warming
threshold, agreed to by governments in the Paris climate agreement, will see
ever worsening effects such as heatwaves, floods, drought and more, scientists
have warned.
But since the IEA’s declaration in 2021, countries and major fossil fuel
companies have forged ahead with a glut of new oil and gas activity. At least
20bn barrels of oil equivalent of new oil and gas has been discovered for
future drilling since this point, according to the new report by Global Energy
Monitor, a San Francisco-based NGO.
Last year, at least 20 oil and gas fields were readied and approved for
extraction following discovery, sanctioning the removal of 8bn barrels of oil
equivalent. By the end of this decade, the report found, the fossil-fuel
industry aims to sanction nearly four times this amount – 31bn barrels of oil
equivalent – across 64 additional new oil and gas fields.
The US, which has produced more crude oil than any country has ever done in
history for the past six years in a row, led the way in new oil and gas
projects in 2022 and 2023, the report found. Guyana was second, with countries
in the Americas accounting for 40% of all new oil sanctioned in the past two
years.
The failure to even slightly slow down the hunt for new oil and gas risks a
fatal blow to already slender hopes of the world remaining below 1.5C, a limit
that scientists expect will be surpassed within a decade.
It comes as major oil and gas companies miss or water down their own targets to
cut planet-heating emissions. At a recent industry conference in Texas, the
boss of Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, said people “should
abandon the fantasy” of phasing out oil and gas.
“Despite the constant and clear warnings that no new oil and gas fields are
compatible with 1.5C, the industry continues to discover and sanction new
projects,” said Scott Zimmerman, project manager of the global oil and gas
extraction tracker at Global Energy Monitor. “It’s disappointing. It shows a
lack of supply-side commitment to climate goals.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
