Time is running out to cut fossil fuel production
Every two years, a group of analysts from around the world join together to work through a straightforward calculation. They add up all the planned future production of oil, gas and coal worldwide, add up how much carbon it would emit when burned, and then calculate how far that would push us past the Paris Agreement targets of 1.5 and 2 C of warming. The 2023 version of the Production Gap Report—compiled by five leading research organizations worldwide, including Canada's International Institute for Sustainable Development—is not happy reading. Projections call for more than twice as much fossil fuel production by 2030 as would be consistent with the 1.5 C target, and roughly 70 per cent too much for 2 C of warming.