Read the latest insights and analysis from the experts at Oil Change International.
Leading climate scientists have revealed that there is a “very strong likelihood” that one of the next five years will be the warmest on record and that the chance of at least one of the next five year’s exceeding 1.5°C is rapidly increasing.
With the war in Ukraine dragging on into its second month, there is a relentless depressing news cycle. But as war dominates, other issues slip from the news agenda.
After some of the most destructive flooding ever to hit South Africa last week, which resulted in over 400 killed and 40,000 displaced, climate activists are calling on the government to speed up the transition away from fossil fuels.
Just as the U.S. oil and gas industry is looking to exploit the Ukraine war to expand exploitation of shale gas, so too is the European shale gas industry.
Whilst much of the world’s media attention is focussed on Putin’s illegal and horrendous war in Ukraine, our daily climate emergency has slipped from the headline news agenda. But what is happening in the Arctic and Antarctica is alarming scientists and activists alike.
The wealthiest countries need to have phased out their production by 2034 at the latest, or by 2031 for a higher chance to stay below 1.5°C of warming. The report is also clear that immediate action is needed: their production must go down by 74% by 2030.
Two prominent African environmentalists are pushing back against those advocating for more fossil fuel drilling on the continent. They argue that “far from generating prosperity and stability in sub-Saharan Africa, investments in fossil fuels cause real harm,” noting “Decades of fossil fuel development have failed to deliver energy to much of the continent" and "have deepened inequality, caused environmental damage, stoked corruption, and encouraged political repression.”
Increased recognition from governments, institutions, and even parts of the financial sector of the role of fossil fuels in climate change represents a sea change from where we were even just a few years ago. The importance of phasing out oil and gas are now featured in climate policy discussions across all sectors.
Just weeks after hosting the COP26 summit, and despite still holding the COP Presidency, Boris Johnson’s government has given the go ahead for the Abigail oil and gas field off the east coast of Scotland.
One man is increasingly been blamed for blocking climate progress in the US. Joe Manchin is the democratic Senator from West Virginia. Biden needs Manchin’s vote to get his climate agenda and Build Back Better legislation, over the line. Manchin maybe a Democrat, but he is also a coal man.
