New Fossil Investment Far Exceeds Paris Climate Goals: Carbon Tracker
The assessment of 52 large fossil companies found https://carbontracker.org/reports/paris-maligned/ that nearly two-thirds of them had approved a combined US $136 billion in new project investments last year and another $30 billion through March 31, 2022. Almost all of that capital spending was inconsistent with a 1.5°C future, 62% of it would exceed the official “well below 2°C” target in the Paris climate agreement, and $58 billion of the total would push average warming past 2.5°.
Highest-spending companies on the Carbon Tracker list include Shell, Chinese state fossils PetroChina and Sinopec, Equinor, TotalÉnergies, and Eni, with Canadian fossils Suncor, Cenovus, and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. showing up in the report.
Out of the entire list, Carbon Tracker says only three companies are planning to reduce oil production and only one, BP, expects to see gas extraction decline by 2030.
Instead, companies are pushing ahead with what they see as business as usual in spite of clear warnings https://www.theenergymix.com/2021/05/19/its-the-end-of-oil-blockbuster-iea-report-urges-no-new-fossil-development/ from the International Energy Agency and others that no new oil, gas, or coal projects are consistent with a 1.5°C future. “Even alignment with a well below 2°C scenario requires production declines of at least 14% by 2035, with our modelling indicating that a significant proportion of proposed oil and gas developments need not see the light of day,” Carbon Tracker writes.
Even that assessment is based on the IEA’s “less ambitious interpretation of the Paris goals” that relies excessively on carbon capture technologies that haven’t proven they’re ready for prime time.
“The science is clear: to reduce the rate of global warming, greenhouse gas emissions must fall rapidly, necessitating a fundamental shift in our energy system,” the report states. But “as a result of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, 2022 has been a bumper year for the oil and gas industry. Majors such as ExxonMobil, Shell, and Chevron are reporting consecutive record quarterly profits, and the current high-price environment is tempting investment in new developments and exploration.” |Read more https://www.theenergymix.com/2022/12/12/new-fossil-investment-far-exceeds-paris-climate-goals-carbon-tracker/|
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