$4.9trn of planned fossil fuel investment 'incompatible' with Paris goals

23rd April 2019


Oil shutterstock 748043437

Related Topics

Related tags

  • Fossil fuels ,
  • Investment ,
  • Pollution & Waste Management

Author

IEMA

A massive $4.9trn (£3.8trn) of planned investment in new oil and gas exploration and extraction over the next decade is incompatible with the Paris Agreement's goals.

That is according to a new report from Global Witness, which said the planned investment could only align with the Paris goals if there is huge carbon capture and removal.

But the international NGO warned that this technology remains unproven at scale, highlighting how there are only two power stations currently capturing CO2 worldwide.

“There is an alarming gap between the plans of oil and gas majors and what the latest science shows is needed to avoid the most catastrophic climate breakdown,“ report author, Murray Worthy, said.

“Investors will rightly be concerned that, despite industry rhetoric to the contrary, the oil and gas sector's spending plans are so drastically incompatible with limiting climate change.“

The report forecasts ExxonMobil to spend the most on fossil fuel exploration and extraction in new fields over the next decade, followed by Shell.

When taken with Chevron, Total and BP, these five oil and gas majors are set to spend over $550bn on fossil fuel investment that is incompatible with the Paris goals.

And some of the scenarios that would align the investment with the Paris goals would require nearly as much CO2 being captured from the atmosphere this century than has been emitted since the Industrial Revolution.

Global Witness said the industry is at a “crucial turning point“ because capital investment has fallen by over a third since 2014, but is set to rise by 85% over the next decade.

The report comes ahead of Shell and BP's annual general meetings next month, where they are expected to face tough questions from investors.

“This analysis should encourage the escalation of investor engagement efforts to challenge oil and gas majors to credibly align their business plans with the Paris goals,“ Worthy continued.

“Blindly pushing ahead comes with huge financial risks for investors, either as a result of the transition to a low-carbon economy, or as the devastating consequences of a changing climate stack up.“

Image credit: iStock

Subscribe

Subscribe to IEMA's newsletters to receive timely articles, expert opinions, event announcements, and much more, directly in your inbox.


Transform articles

Facing the climate emergency challenge in local government

It’s well recognised that the public sector has the opportunity to work towards a national net-zero landscape that goes well beyond improving on its own performance; it can also influence through procurement and can direct through policy.

19th March 2024

Read more

The UK government’s carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) strategy is based on optimistic techno-economic assumptions that are now outdated, Carbon Tracker has warned.

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK government’s climate adaptation plans are ‘inadequate’ and falling ‘far short’ of what is required, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has warned today.

13th March 2024

Read more

The UK’s net-zero economy grew 9% last year while delivering higher paid jobs than average and attracting billions of pounds in private investment, analysis by CBI Economics has uncovered.

28th February 2024

Read more

A consortium including IEMA and the Good Homes Alliance have drafted a letter to UK government ministers expressing disappointment with the proposed Future Homes Standard.

26th February 2024

Read more

Campaign group Wild Justice has accused the UK government of trying to relax pollution rules for housebuilders “through the backdoor”.

14th February 2024

Read more

Three-quarters of UK adults are concerned about the impact that climate change will have on their bills, according to polling commissioned by Positive Money.

13th February 2024

Read more

All major housing developments in England will be required by law to deliver at least a 10% increase in biodiversity under new rules that came into force today.

12th February 2024

Read more

Media enquires

Looking for an expert to speak at an event or comment on an item in the news?

Find an expert

IEMA Cookie Notice

Clicking the ‘Accept all’ button means you are accepting analytics and third-party cookies. Our website uses necessary cookies which are required in order to make our website work. In addition to these, we use analytics and third-party cookies to optimise site functionality and give you the best possible experience. To control which cookies are set, click ‘Settings’. To learn more about cookies, how we use them on our website and how to change your cookie settings please view our cookie policy.

Manage cookie settings

Our use of cookies

You can learn more detailed information in our cookie policy.

Some cookies are essential, but non-essential cookies help us to improve the experience on our site by providing insights into how the site is being used. To maintain privacy management, this relies on cookie identifiers. Resetting or deleting your browser cookies will reset these preferences.

Essential cookies

These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website.

Analytics cookies

These cookies allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors to our website and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works.

Advertising cookies

These cookies allow us to tailor advertising to you based on your interests. If you do not accept these cookies, you will still see adverts, but these will be more generic.

Save and close