Fossil fuel plans evade Paris limits, says UNEP report

Despite inc­reased climate am­bitions and net-zero commitments, governments still plan to produce more than double the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 than what would be consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5°C, acc­ording to the 2021 Production Gap Report by leading rese­a­r­ch institutes and the UN En­v­­i­ron­ment Programme (UNEP).

 

The report, first launched in 2019, measures the gap between governments’ plan­ned production of coal, oil, and gas and the global production levels consistent with meeting the Paris Agreement temperature limits. Two years later, the report released on Wednesday found the produ­ction gap largely unchanged.

 

Over the next two decades, governments are collectively projecting an increase in oil and gas production, and only a modest decrease in coal production. Taken toge­t­her, their plans and projections see global, total fossil fuel production increasing out to at least 2040, creating an ever-widening production gap.

 

“The devastating impacts of climate change are here for all to see. There is still time to limit long-term warming to 1.5°C, but this window of opportunity is rapidly closing,” says Inger Andersen, executive director of UNEP.