Fossil energy reserves contain 3.5 trillion tons of carbon dioxide, according to an unprecedented stock

The world’s fossil fuel reserves contain the equivalent of 3.5 trillion tons of greenhouse gases, which would be released if used and undermine international climate goals, according to an unprecedented list published Monday, Sept. 19. This amount corresponds to what would be released into the atmosphere if all the oil, gas and coal reserves were produced and used, according to a global registry set up by the British think tank Carbon Tracker and the US NGO Global Energy Monitor.

This is equivalent to “more than all emissions since the industrial revolution” And the “More than seven times the remaining carbon budget to respect the 1.5°C temperature limit.”The authors say. thats understood “income” Carbon refers to the amount of carbon dioxide that can be emitted for a given result, in this case the most ambitious goal of the Paris Climate Agreement.

This registry, which contains data on more than 50,000 sites in 89 countries, aims to provide political leaders and civil society with the information needed to manage the gradual exit of this fossil fuel. In particular, it shows that both the United States and Russia have enough reserves of fossil fuels to blow up the entire global carbon budget, even if all other countries stop production immediately. It also identifies the world’s most powerful emitter: the Ghawar oil field in Saudi Arabia.

The warming since the industrial age, which was fueled by fossil fuels, has already reached 1.1 degrees Celsius, which has led to a series of disasters. The International Energy Agency had proposed last year to abandon any new oil or gas project to keep pace with a rapid decline in demand and to keep global warming under control.