A new study has found that no new gas, coal, or oil leases are necessary to meet global energy demand before 2050, so long as the international target of net zero carbon pollution is met by that same year, the Guardian reported.
The study, released by researchers at the University College London (UCL) and the International Institute for Sustainable Development, finds that current dirty energy capacity can provide for projected energy demands as long as clean energy projects are expanded in tandem.
The study also encourages a specific policy position for which the research grants a scientific basis, "governments should ban new fossil fuel projects."
"The clarity that this norm brings should help focus policy on targeting the required ambitious scaling of renewable and clean energy investment, whilst managing the decline of fossil fuel infrastructure in an equitable and just way," said Dr. Steve Pye, a co-author of the report from the UCL Energy Institute.
Those involved with the study are hopeful that it could be an important messaging tool for climate advocates. Dr. Fergus Green of UCL told the Guardian, "Norms resonate when they carry simple demands to which powerful actors can be held immediately accountable."
While governments worldwide have committed to reducing carbon pollution to net zero by 2050, it is evident that the slogan has lost some meaning. These same governments have approved new, dangerous, dirty energy projects.
Amid rising gas prices, the Biden administration has been approving new drilling projects that likely won't be productive until years after the administration and do nothing to alleviate the strain on consumers. Measures like this contradict the administration's climate goals and can be read more like a political move to show voters that the administration is doing something about gas prices while providing assurances to dirty energy producers.
The Conservative U.K. government has also recently licensed new oil drilling operations in the North Sea.
In other instances, oil and gas companies can greenwash consumers by claiming to be a part of the climate solution and generate PR campaigns around often meaningless measures like carbon offsets or hydrogen fuel that allow them to continue heating the planet while dodging weak government regulations.
The study is far from being purely scientific and seeks to address this problem directly. The authors advocate that their work justifies the creation of a "No New Fossil" norm that represents more effective messaging and allows actors to be held directly accountable for betraying climate goals.
As quoted in the Guardian, Dr. Green of UCL hopes the study provides a new, more solid test for public officials and ostensibly climate-active governments. The study can create a new line in the sand: "If they're allowing new fossil fuel projects, then they're not serious."
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