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On March 20 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, [IPCC], the world’s most definitive voice of climate science, released its latest Synthesis Report. It found that extreme weather caused by climate breakdown has led to increased deaths from intensifying heatwaves in all regions, millions of lives and homes destroyed in droughts and floods, millions of people facing hunger, and “increasingly irreversible losses” in vital ecosystems. It also said that deep, rapid and sustained greenhouse gas emission reductions across all sectors will be necessary; global emissions will need to be slashed almost in half by 2030.
Releasing the report, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said nations “must stop expanding oil and gas production, begin phasing out existing fossil fuels, and reach clean electricity by 2035 for developed countries.” That must include:
- Ceasing all licensing or funding of new oil and gas.
- Stopping any expansion of existing oil and gas reserves.
- Establishing a global phase down of existing oil and gas production compatible with the 2050 global net zero target.[1]