Despite countries agreeing at last year’s United Nations climate change conference (COP28) to shift away from fossil fuels, oil and gas exploration is thriving, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) says in a new analysis of data from the research firm Rystad.
The IISD, a think tank with headquarters in Winnipeg, Man., published the analysis in its new monthly newsletter, Carbon Minefields, which provides updates on oil and gas exploration around the world.
The think tank pulled out some highlights from the research:
Carbon Minefields: Oil and gas exploration is surging to pre-Covid levels, International institute for Sustainable Development, July 24, 2024
- Resources discovered in 2024 threaten to unleash 12 billion tonnes of CO2 if fully exploited—more than the past 4 years’ discoveries combined.
- Rich countries (the United States, Canada, Australia, Norway, and the United Kingdom) have issued two thirds of the global number of oil and gas licences since 2020.
- China, Mexico, and Russia are set to license the biggest volumes of oil and gas in the second half of 2024.
- Companies spent USD 26.2 billion looking for more oil and gas in the past 12 months. Equinor, Shell, and BP were the biggest investors.
- If all licensed fields are fully exploited, the world will extract more than twice as much oil and gas in 2040 as is compatible with a 1.5°C global warming limit. The “production gap” is widening at its highest rate since 2015.
- There is no room for new oil and gas fields under a 1.5°C global warming limit, peer-reviewed research shows.
Read the full analysis originally published by the IISD on July 24, 2024.
