According to a report, the boom in drilling in the United States could mean a "climate disaster"

U.S. 25 Views

[ad_1]

The report by Oil Change International said that the United States is ready to "unleash the biggest explosion in the world" of carbon emissions from new oil and gas development if it continues with its plans to expand drilling.

"Just at the moment when the world must begin to decarbonize quickly to avoid a climate disaster out of control, the United States is moving farther and faster than any other country to expand oil and gas extraction," the report said. .

The United States became the world's largest oil producer last year, beating Russia and Saudi Arabia. US oil production has more than doubled in the last decade, mainly thanks to the huge boom in shale oil.

The International Energy Agency said on Friday that US oil production UU It shot up more than 2 million barrels per day in 2018, the largest jump recorded by any country. The agency, which monitors energy market trends for the world's richest nations, said growth will continue this year.

A report earlier this month also showed that after three years of decline, carbon emissions increased significantly in the United States in 2018.

The growth in the United States contrasts with the cuts promised by the 2015 agreement on climate change in Paris.

Almost 200 countries agreed to reduce carbon production and stop global warming below two degrees centigrade by the end of the century. Closing coal mines and limiting the use of fossil fuels were key parts of that plan.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced last year that he wants to push ahead with the country's plan to close coal plants by 2023. The United Kingdom has pledged to phase out its coal plants by 2025.

Germany is expected to announce details of its plan to eliminate coal next month.

After three years of decline, carbon emissions increased significantly in the United States in 2018

The United States was another leader in that process until President Donald Trump announced in 2017 that he would withdraw the country from the agreement by 2020. He also sought to increase coal production and oil extraction.

The Oil Change International report said that existing oil and gas fields and coal mines already contain enough carbon to push the world beyond the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

"Stopping new projects alone will not be enough to keep the warming below" 2 degrees Celsius, he said.

"To limit the catastrophic climate change, governments must manage the decline of the fossil fuel industry and do so in the coming decades," he added.

[ad_2]
Source link