Press release
European Climate Foundation…
Governments plan to produce 120 percent more of the maximum amount of fossil fuels that can be burned to limit global warming to 1.5 ° C by 2030.
The “Production Deficit Report” prepared by the United Nations and leading research organizations is the first to evaluate the gap between the Paris Agreement targets and the planned coal, oil and natural gas production of countries.
According to this report, which evaluates the countries’ plans and forecasts for fossil fuel production, the world is currently on the way to produce much more coal, oil and natural gas than the amount in line with the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 to 2 ° C. Therefore, the “production gap” that will occur makes it much more difficult to reach the climate targets.
The “Production Deficit Report” is a complementary study to the Emission Gap Report prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which shows that countries’ commitments do not reach the required level for global temperature limits in emission reduction.
The countries’ fossil fuel production plans are well above the levels required to meet the currently lacking climate commitments under the Paris Agreement. This excessive investment in coal, oil and natural gas resources necessitates a fossil fuel infrastructure that will make emission reduction even more difficult.
Michael Lazarus, director of the Stockholm Environment Institute and lead author of the report explained:
“The climate agenda has changed over the past decade. The damage uncontrolled fossil fuel production is doing to climate progress is now more well known. This report reveals for the first time how great the discrepancy is between the global warming targets under the Paris Agreement and the coal, oil and natural gas production policies of the countries. The report also offers solutions with national policies and methods involving international cooperation to close this gap.”