The Paris Agreement of 2015 saw countries around the world commit to keeping global warming to 2°C above pre-industrial levels, alongside more ambitious targets to keep this to below 1.5°C.
According to the report from Carbon Tracker, companies are still approving billions of dollars of investment in major projects which are inconsistent with these goals.
“Oil and gas companies are betting against the success of global efforts to tackle climate change,” the report’s co-author Mike Coffin said. “If they continue with business-as-usual investment, they risk wasting more than a trillion dollars on projects which will not be competitive in a low-carbon world.
“If the world is to avert climate catastrophe, demand for fossil fuels must fall sharply. Companies and investors must prepare for a world of lower long-term fossil fuel prices and a smaller oil and gas industry and recognise now the risk of stranded assets that this creates.”
Carbon Tracker’s report...