Nearly half of the existing fossil fuel production facilities will need to close prematurely in order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees celsius, which is the internationally agreed goal necessary to avoid absolute climate catastrophe.
A new grim study goes beyond previous calls to stop all new fossil fuel development in order to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. The statement was seen as radical at the time, making the new study even more so.
The new research’s conclusion is even starker.
The study was published in the journal Environment Research Letters. It analyzed a database of more than 25,000 oil and gas fields, and it developed a new dataset of coal mines.
Research found that mines and fields that have already been developed would lead to 25 years of global emissions at today’s rate. Scientists have agreed that emissions absolutely need to fall by half by 2030.
Scientists said that the new study is a valuable contribution to the understanding of what fossil fuels are likely to be produced and in what volume, and how much of that needs to remain in the ground if global warming is to be limited.
Researchers said that oil and gas companies are gambling on technologies that are supposed to reduce emissions of their fossil fuel companies, but that these pose a huge risk to the climate as well as investors, as most technologies are still at an early stage of development.
In 2019, a study found that the world already has more fossil fuel power stations than is needed, and said some should be retired early.
The latest research says that other sites need to be closed too to save the planet.
Several weeks ago, the IPCC released a grim report that said it is “now or never” for the world if we are to stave off climate disaster.
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