If world leaders agree on a 2 degree Celsius warming limit at the Paris climate summit, $2 trillion in new coal and petroleum projects risk being killed, according to a new report.
The London based Carbon Tracker Initiative (CTI) environmental think tank says that efforts by world governments will negatively impact the energy industry and warns investors that coal, oil and gas will be hit hardest. Mexico’s Petroleos Mexicanos and Royal Dutch Shell stand to lose roughly $77 billion in projects, while ExxonMobil would lose about $73 billion, according to Reuters.
CTI supports a world climate agenda to address global warming, arguing cutting emissions from fossil fuels is key to the planet’s survival. They say that if global temperatures go above 2 degrees Celsius, the world will enter a “danger zone,” according to the report. The report argues that limiting the expansion of coal is necessary in order to reach these goals.
“Perhaps the starkest conclusion is that just perpetuating the production from some of the existing coal mines is sufficient to meet the volume of coal required,” reads the report. “It is the end of the road for expansion of the coal sector.”
A separate study released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) found that carbon dioxide emissions from energy production in the U.S. decreased in 47 states and Washington D.C. between 2005 and 2013, reports Scientific American. The U.S. energy industry relies heavily on the production of oil, gas and coal power.
ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell said they could not comment on the report but rejected the assertion that oil and gas need to be phased out, pointing to the growing global demand for energy. Shell has been highly critical of Carbon Tracker Initiative reports in the past, according to Reuters.
Alan Jeffers, spokesman for Exxon told Reuters, “All of ExxonMobil’s current hydrocarbon reserves will be needed along with substantial future industry investments.”
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