By Obiabin Onukwugha
A new report has stated that the United States (U.S), drove 90% of the global increase in oil & gas extraction since the Paris Agreement in 2015.
According to the report, released by Oil Change International, a research, communications, and advocacy organization on Wednesday, the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Norway collectively increased their oil and gas production by nearly 40 percent since the Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015 to 2024.
It said the Global North countries paid only $280 billion in climate finance to the rest of the world since the Paris Agreement, while enabling the oil and gas companies they headquarter to make close to 5 times as much in profits (over $1.3 trillion) during the same period.
When the next round of global climate talks (COP30) kicks off in Brazil, it will mark ten years since the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change was adopted in 2015 – committing governments to cooperate to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius (°C) and to do so in a just and equitable way.
The body noted that after a decade from the Paris Agreement, fossil fuel extraction and use have continued to rise and hit record levels.
“A decade on from the Paris Agreement, fossil fuel extraction and use have continued to rise and hit record levels. As a result, the remaining carbon budget for keeping global warming to 1.5°C is now so small that it could be depleted in just three years if carbon pollution, primarily from fossil fuels, remains consistent.
“Despite agreeing at COP28 to transition away from fossil fuels and accelerate action this decade, governments are still planning to produce more than double the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 – 120 percent more – than would be compatible with pathways for a livable climate. Among the recently submitted Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, virtually none contain plans to wind down oil and gas production,” the report read in part.
The body emphasised that a just energy transition is much more affordable than continued fossil fuel dependence. “However, getting there will require governments to stop propping up the fossil fuel industry and take a much more active role in coordinating, regulating, and investing in the transition. For many countries in the Global South, the public money and economic sovereignty required to do this are constrained by unfair and outdated global finance and trade rules.
“On top of this, Global North countries are failing to pay the climate finance they owe. To try to get off the hook for their commitments, Global North countries are pushing unrealistic proposals to instead rely almost exclusively on private investors,” the report said.
It mentioned that the keeping the 1.5°C limit in reach, requires ending fossil fuel expansion and rapidly phasing out oil, gas, and coal production and use. “The legal case for this has also been recently bolstered by international courts, including the International Court of Justice. It is equally clear that a just and equitable fossil fuel phaseout is only possible if countries of the Global North that have done the most to light the fire of climate disaster, and wield disproportionate power over the means to put it out, do two things:
“Move first to phase out their fossil fuel extraction and use, recognizing they have already exhausted far more than their fair share of the global carbon budget and have the highest economic capacity to manage rapid domestic just transitions; and
“Pay the climate finance they owe to Global South countries to pursue energy access and development pathways away from fossil fuels, and agree to reform global finance rules acting as further obstacles to just transitions. OCI research has shown that Global North countries can mobilize at least USD 6.6 trillion a year for climate action and other public priorities,” the report also read.
“Recent history suggests many of these same countries will arrive in Brazil this November grandstanding as climate leaders – and even seek to deflect blame for the climate crisis they have stoked onto others. Yet none of these governments can claim to be working towards the Paris goals while approving new oil and gas extraction and failing to pay their fair share of climate finance, including for a just transition for affected workers and communities,” the report stated.