A new report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) reveals that governments are on track to produce more than twice the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 than would be needed to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. This alarming trend is putting the world’s climate goals at serious risk.
The UNEP report highlights the stark contradiction between the energy plans of major fossil fuel-producing countries and their commitments to climate action. If these plans are implemented, coal production will increase by 460%, gas production by 83%, and oil production by 29% by 2030. Such levels of fossil fuel production are incompatible with keeping global temperature rise within the internationally agreed 1.5C threshold and even exceed the riskier 2C target by 69%.
The report identifies several countries that are planning significant increases in fossil fuel production, including India (coal), Saudi Arabia (oil), and Russia (coal, oil, and gas). The US and Canada are also planning to be major oil producers and also United Arab Emirates, which is hosting the COP28 in this November.
The UNEP report underscores the fundamental conflict driving the climate crisis: the need to rapidly reduce fossil fuel consumption while the fossil fuel industry and petrostates continue to expand production, driven by the prospect of trillions of dollars in profits.
Of the 20 fossil fuel-producing nations profiled in the report, 17 have pledged to achieve net-zero emissions. However, the report concludes that these pledges are meaningless if they are not accompanied by a drastic reduction in fossil fuel production.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has emphasized the urgency of addressing the root cause of the climate crisis: fossil fuel dependence. “We cannot address the climate catastrophe without tackling its root cause: fossil fuel dependence. Fossil fuel emissions are already causing climate chaos which is devastating lives and livelihoods, and we are on course for far worse,” he stated.
Guterres called on world leaders to take immediate action to protect humanity from the worst impacts of climate change and to embrace the benefits of renewable energy. “Leaders must act now to save humanity from the worst impacts of climate chaos, and profit from the extraordinary benefits of renewable energy. That means ending our fossil fuel addiction by shrinking supply, driving down demand, and accelerating the renewables revolution, as part of a just transition,” he urged.
COP28 is a critical opportunity to send a clear signal that the era of fossil fuels is over. The world must commit to ramping up renewables, phasing out fossil fuels, and boosting energy efficiency, ensuring a just and equitable transition away from fossil fuels.
