Page 8 - AfrElec Week 20 2022

AfrElec COMMENTARY AfrElec

fuel-burning infrastructure must be retired early measures and to promote renewable energy
to stay below 1.5°C. sources.”
This new study finds that emissions ‘lock-in’ The study notes that, by ceasing to issue new
from existing investments in fossil fuel extrac- licences or permits for fossil fuel exploration
tion may be even larger, warranting equivalent or extraction, governments could both avoid
policy attention. At the COP26 climate summit further entrenching legal and political barriers
in Glasgow, several governments launched a to mitigation policies and minimise stranded
Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance, committing to end assets.
new licensing for oil and gas exploration and “Each new coal mine, gas well or oil field that
production – one of the necessary policy steps is developed deepens political entanglement
identified in the study. with the fossil fuel industry. Increasing the scale
“Our study reinforces that building new fos- of extraction-related jobs and investments only
sil fuel infrastructure is not a viable response to makes it harder for governments to manage,”
Russia’s war on Ukraine,” said co-lead author said co-author Thijs Van de Graaf from Ghent
Kelly Trout of Oil Change International. “The University.
world has already tapped too much oil, gas, and “Our research should also be a warning sign
coal. Developing more would either cause more for publicly listed companies and their investors
dangerous levels of warming, if fully extracted, that reserves that are on the books to be devel-
or create a larger scale of stranded assets.” oped cannot be developed to stay below 1.5°C.
The study finds that Russia, with its large Fossil fuel companies that claim to be aligned
developed reserves of oil, gas and coal, accounts with the Paris Agreement and that need to tran-
for 13% of the global total. sition their core businesses, need to accelerate
Almost 90% of developed fossil fuel reserves their transition plans,” said co-author Dimitri
are located in just 20 countries, led by China, Lafleur of Global Climate Insights.
Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United States, followed The study does not attempt to answer the
by Iran, India, Indonesia, Australia, Canada, and question of which developed coal, oil, and gas
Iraq. reserves should be decommissioned and which
“As governments work to reduce their ‘fit’ within the 1.5°C carbon budget, noting that
dependence on Russian oil, gas and coal in this requires grappling with questions of equity
response to the current crisis, they must rec- between and within countries. A recent paper
ognize that developing new reserves elsewhere by researchers at the Tyndall Centre for Climate
takes years and will not make up for short-term Change Research found that the wealthiest, most
scarcity,” said co-author Roman Medelevitch of economically diversified countries should phase
the Ӧko-Institut. “Where possible, governments out their oil and gas production by 2034 to facil-
should rather take advantage of scarcity price itate an equitable global transition within the
signals to push for sufficiency and efficiency 1.5-degree limit.™

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 20 19•May•2022