United Nations, Nov 8 (EFE).- Governments around the world still plan to produce more than double the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 than the warming limit of 1.5°C allows, according to a new report released Wednesday.
The Orca plant, Swiss company Climeworks’ biggest facility and the world’s first large-scale carbon dioxide capture plant, which extracts carbon dioxide directly from the air and deposits it underground, is seen during a visit by the Swiss president, near Hellisheidi Power Plant, near Reykjavik, Iceland 16 May 2023. EFE-EPA FILE/ANTHONY ANEX
Specifically, these countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, China, Brazil, Germany and Canada, will produce around 110 percent more fossil fuels in 2030 as would be consistent with containing warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, as pledged in the 2015 Paris Agreement, according to the report.
The planet has already warmed at least 1.1°C above average pre-industrial levels, but 1.5°C is considered the limit to prevent worsening and potentially irreversible effects of climate change.
The 2023 Production Gap Report, produced by Stockholm Environment Institute, Climate Analytics, E3G, International Institute for Sustainable Development, and the UN Environment Program (UNEP), said combined government plans would lead to an increase in global coal production until 2030, and in global oil and gas production until at least 2050.
“Governments are literally doubling down on fossil fuel production; that spells double trouble for people and planet,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres upon the report’s release.
His words come just 24 hours after the British government announced a new licensing system for oil and gas production in the North Sea, a decision that has caused outrage among environmental groups.
The British plan also provides for carbon capture and storage, a technology that has received billions of dollars in investments and support from major oil companies, but the viability of which has been questioned by experts.
Wednesday’s report said that due to the risks and uncertainties of type of technology, “countries should aim for a near total phase-out of coal production and use by 2040 and a combined reduction in oil and gas production and use by three-quarters by 2050 from 2020 levels, at a minimum.”
“Governments’ plans to expand fossil fuel production are undermining the energy transition needed to achieve net-zero emissions, throwing humanity’s future into question,” said Inger Andersen, UNEP executive director, in a statement. EFE
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