Tackling climate change Coal and oil and gas production must fall by 6% per year

A new U.
N.
assessment warns that to limit catastrophic global warming, oil, gas and coal production must fall by 6 percent
a year.

The report found that despite the decline in production due to the pandemic this year, the gap remains large: countries plan to increase annual growth by 2% by 2030, which is equivalent to more than
doubling the production of fossil fuels.

But the authors stress that emissions need to be reduced immediately, and the Covid-19 pandemic presents a fantastic opportunity for governments to rebuild their economies
without relying on polluting fuels.

Michael Lazarus, director of the Center for American Studies at the Stockholm Environment Institute, said: "This study clearly shows that if countries continue to produce fossil fuels at current levels, let alone grow as planned, we will face severe climate damage
.
”

In the 2015 Paris Agreement, countries pledged to limit warming to below
2C by drastically cutting emissions.
So far, extreme weather events such as wildfires and tropical storms have become more severe and frequent
due to temperatures rising by more than 1 degree.

The United Nations calculates that to limit emissions to 1.
5 degrees, countries would need to reduce emissions by more than
7.
5 percent per year this decade.

The United Nations Environment Programme reported Wednesday that to meet such emissions reduction targets, fossil fuel production would need to fall by 6 percent
a year.
Coal, oil and gas production will decline by 11%, 4.
0% and 3.
0%
annually over the decade, respectively.

However, some countries and regions plan not only to continue producing fossil fuels, but also to expand their extraction and use
.
The report shows that in the wake of Covid-19, governments can take the path
of "just and equitable transition from fossil fuels".

However, G20 governments have pledged $230 billion in recovery measures for sectors responsible for fossil fuel production and use, while investments in green technologies amount to $
150 billion.

Lead author Ivetta Garasimchuk of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) said: "The pandemic-driven demand shock and this year's collapse in oil prices have once again demonstrated the vulnerability
of many regions and communities dependent on fossil fuels.
The only way out of this trap is to diversify these economies, not just fossil fuels
.
”

Industry regulator Global Witness said in a wide-ranging report in 2019 that all new upstream oil and gas projects are incompatible
with the emissions pathways of the Paris targets.

The report also recommends that policymakers reduce subsidies for fossil fuels, limit production and focus stimulus money on green investments
.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: "To meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, the production and use of coal, oil and gas will need to be rapidly reduced
.
”