CLIMATE CHANGE
Banning New Fossil Fuel Projects Is The Way To Go
Stopping new fossil fuel projects is key to achieving climate goals, as current infrastructure is sufficient to meet energy demands in a 1.5°C world
One of the questions I receive the most when I talk about carbon emissions is, why they are still approving new fossil fuels projects? Doesn’t that take us backward? Isn’t reducing emissions while allowing new projects to continue is like bailing out water from a boat with too many holes? (Spoiler: yes it is)
But luckily, we are not the only ones wondering about this. Once again, science offers insightful answers.
A recent paper by Dr. Fergus Green and colleagues published in Science compellingly argues for halting the development of new fossil fuel projects. The study explains that the continued expansion of fossil fuel production and use undermines current global efforts to meet the Paris Agreement goals.
Fortunately, the authors propose an alternative: stop the approval of new fossil fuel extraction and power generation projects. I know, wild, right? But why do they think that’s the way to go?
