FOSSIL FUEL GIANTS NOW HAVE TO ACCEPT THEIR EFFECT ON THE PLANET.

Oil and gas groups are facing a “moment of truth” about the need to shift to clean energy or continue to fuel the climate crisis, the global energy watchdog the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned. It said fossil fuel companies had to make “pivotal choices about their role in the energy system” in a report released ahead of the UN climate summit COP28 in Dubai late November 2023. Emissions by the oil and gas sector must drop by 60 per cent by 2030 to keep global warming to an increase of just 1.5°C “within reach”. Emissions will need to fall by 75 per cent to reach the 2050 net-zero goal. The IEA said global demand for oil and gas would peak by 2030 and if states deliver on pledges, this would fall by 45 per cent below today’s level by 2050.The oil and gas sector – which provides more than half of global energy supply and employs nearly 12 million workers worldwide – has been a “marginal force at best” in transitioning to a clean energy system, according to the report. Oil groups currently account for just 1 per cent of clean energy investment globally – and 60 per cent of that comes from just four companies. It warns that as the world transitions to net zero, oil and gas is set to become a less profitable and riskier business. The current valuation of private oil and gas companies could fall by 25 per cent from $6 trn today if all national energy and climate goals are reached, and by up to 60 per cent if the world gets on track to limit global warming to 1.5 °C. The report says that while the oil and gas industry includes encompasses a large and diverse range of players – from small, specialised operators to huge national oil companies, attention is often focused on the role of the major private sector firms such as BP and Shell. The IEA says the giant oil firms only own less than 13 per cent of global oil and gas production and reserves. The entire industry must make “profound decisions” it said, adding that it “needs to commit to genuinely helping the world meet its energy needs and climate goals – which means letting go of the illusion that implausibly large amounts of carbon capture are the solution,