– Investing in new infrastructure for fossil fuels is moral and economic madness. These were the words of then UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres Third Interim Report of the UN Climate Commission Presented on Monday.
The report outlines what the world needs to do to achieve its goals Paris Agreement.
Highlights of the report state that most fossil fuels in the world cannot be burned if global warming is to be kept below 2 degrees.
The earth needs 80 percent coal, 50 percent oil and 30 percent gas to avoid global warming by more than 2 degrees.
Dina Saltvet, Nordia’s chief analyst, agrees with the UN chief. He says we do not need new oil and gas fields now if we want to achieve the 1.5 degree target and reduce consumption as much as possible.
– All new large projects launched will only lead to an increase in CO₂ levels. There is no need to invest in new projects and we have enough to achieve the goals, says Saltvet.
Leading to great loss
– Money should be used to invest in something that does not emit. Renewable energy or other solutions says Dina Saltvet.
Photo: Vidhar Root / NDP
The report shows that more is being invested in fossil fuels than green conversion. This can lead to huge losses.
According to the report, investors will face $ 11.8 trillion in assets by 2050.
This is more than the value of NOK 100,000 billion or nine Norwegian oil funds. And the losses may be even higher. The climate group writes that NOK is more than 60,000 billion.
– If we change the direction of climate policy to control global warming by 2 degrees or less by 2100, the statistic of wasted investment is fundamental.
Says Christa Clap. He works at Cicero and has been the primary editor of the chapter on climate finance in the supplementary report.
Simply put, the risk is that investing in fossil fuels is not a good idea, given the inability to use more fuels due to climate change.
“Investments in the urban infrastructure, transportation and energy sectors will no longer be profitable due to CO₂ pricing,” says Clap.
Measured in parts per million particles (ppm)
It’s about the seasons. In summer, plants and trees absorb COA from the air, reducing CO2 levels. In winter, the plants die, CO₂ is released and the map goes up. Due to the presence of more plants and trees in the Northern Hemisphere, the seasons here control the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere.
The greenhouse effect makes the soil more livable, but more greenhouse gases such as CO₂ enhance this effect and warm the soil. The map begins with 1960, the year the world began to measure CO₂ systematically. It happened in Mauna Loa, Hawaii and the curve shows measurements from there. Before the world was industrialized, the atmosphere had about 280 ppm CO₂ (year 1700). Researchers have discovered this by studying ice core specimens.
No, not immediately. If emissions are reduced, the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere will slowly increase. The emission reduction must be large and last for a long time before we see an effect.
Atmosphere Imagine that a bathtub and greenhouse gases are water that fills you, and even if you turn off the tap, the water in the bathtub will not be empty. It is similar to greenhouse gases and CO₂. It takes a long time for CO₂ to break down in the atmosphere. This is why experts prefer technology that absorbs greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and reduces emissions.
World politicians have decided to try to control global warming by 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial temperatures. According to the UN Climate Group, the level of CO₂ in the atmosphere should be kept below 430 ppm.
False accusation
Clap says the report notes what he calls “confusing signals sent by governments and companies in the case of fossil fuels.”
“Despite many promises to reduce subsidies and funding for fossil fuels, it is still difficult to turn funding in the green direction,” he says.
As the report progressed, UN President Guterres used very strong words.
– Some government and business leaders say one thing, but do something completely different. Simple and straightforward, they lie. And the results will be catastrophic, Guterres said.
Saltvet does not use the word lie, but says that in Norway there is a long distance between words and action.
– There is a question we can ask in Norway: to what extent do we set realistic goals and pursue them? It should be possible to ask this, as we have not yet reached the climate goals we set. At least by 2020, the target has not been reached, says Saltwet.
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