Countries must collectively reduce global fossil fuel production by around 6% per year between 2020 and 2030 to limit global warming to +1.5°C, according to a report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) published on Wednesday 2 December.
Co-authored with four research centres (Stockholm Environment Institute, International Institute for Sustainable Development, Overseas Development Institute, and E3G), this report “shows without a doubt that the production and use of coal, oil, and gas needs to decrease quickly if we are to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change”, said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Providing details by type of fossil energy, the document indicates that coal, oil, and gas production is expected to decline by 11.4, and 3% per year respectively.
However, the world is heading instead towards an increase in the global production of fossil fuels of 2% per year, warn the authors.
According to them, countries’ current plans for 2030 would lead to fossil fuel production of more than twice as much (120%) as would be needed to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement.
While Covid-19 has led to a short-term decline in fossil fuel production, the authors are concerned that post-Covid stimulus packages could lead to a rebound.
They point out that the G20 governments have committed more than USD 230 billion to the sectors responsible for the production and consumption of fossil fuels, compared to about USD 150 billion for “clean” energy.
See the report: https://bit.ly/3g0Nwou (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)