Are We Kicking Climate Goals to the Curb?
- besociety
- Nov 14
- 5 min read
Updated: Nov 21
A key place to look at for the world scrapping climate goals is Europe. In light of the invasion of Ukraine, Russia reduced the amount of gas sent to the EU from 146 billion cubic metres in 2021 to an estimated 61 billion cubic metres in 2022. Their only main routes to send gas to Europe were through Ukrainian pipelines, where they had deals in place to run until 2024, and through the TurkStream Pipeline, but in much smaller amounts compared to the already reduced level. This has led to a handful of countries in the EU moving back towards coal as a source of energy, an example being Germany, where they reopened several coal plants to tackle the energy crisis in 2022. The government was even able to get the support of the Green Party in Germany, saying that it was “painful but necessary”. The reintroduction of coal plants has led to Germany’s climate goals also being delayed to 2038, with no current plans to pull them back to the original 2030 timeline.
As well as reintroducing coal power plants, coal mines have also been expanded in Germany, with the Garzweiler mine expansion grabbing headlines after climate activist Greta Thunberg was arrested at the scene protesting the demolition of a small town to expand the mine. This shows that even though the EU has committed itself to lowering carbon emissions and many countries have individually signed up to the Paris Climate Agreement, they are still increasing their usage and reliance on fossil fuels, leading to them still holding onto the energy market compared to more climate-friendly solutions, as there is less of an incentive for carbon-neutral energy sources to thrive while the continent is still funding fossil fuel development.
The US has also experienced regression in the move towards climate-friendly energy. In the past decade, the country has flip-flopped between being pro-oil and pro-green energy. Trump, who has been pro-oil, announced that he would be removing the US from the Paris Climate Agreement a year after the Obama administration had signed them up to in 2016; however, this didn’t take effect until mid-2020. However, after Trump lost his position in office, Biden signed the country back up to the agreement in January 2021 via an executive order to overrule Trump’s decision to pull the country out of the arrangement. The US officially rejoined on 19 February 2021. Although this was a step in the right direction, for the US in 2023, the climate-aware administration granted permission for the ‘Willow Project’ in Alaska—an oil and gas drilling project that is expected to produce upwards of 180,000 barrels of oil a day at its peak.
The economic benefit dwarfs any that would come from a green, eco-friendly energy source, with an expected 2,500 construction jobs being created for the project and 300 long-term jobs in the area. The project is also estimated to bring in between $8 billion and $17 billion in revenue, which will generate wealth in local areas and, in turn, generate billions in taxes collected by the state and federal governments. The project is set to start drilling oil in 2029, once construction is completed, and is estimated to continue drilling for 30 years, completely surpassing the 2050 goals which Biden had re-joined. ConocoPhillips justifies the Willow Project by stating that even though the world wants the 2050 goals to come about, the reality is that the world is still expected to need 24 million barrels of oil a day by that deadline.
The expansion of the oil industry in America is not a new thing; in the past decade, American production of oil has risen 70%, and the country has moved up the rankings to the world’s largest supplier and exporter of oil. This shows that even though the former administration has committed to the world’s climate goals, their actions lead to further reliance and growth in the oil and gas industry. Most recently, though, since the Biden administration has left office and the Trump administration is back, the US has again withdrawn from the Paris Agreement as part of the administration’s America First policies.
Like the rest of Europe, the UK is also giving in on their 2050 climate goals. This comes as there has been immense pressure to open up the North Sea to the oil and gas industry after the UK experienced higher energy bills due to Russia stopping natural gas exports to Europe in 2022. In response to tackling the energy crisis, the former Conservative Government, led by Rishi Sunak, released hundreds of drilling licences up north. This is expected to make the UK more energy-independent in the long run and is estimated to create up to 50,000 jobs.
Although the UK is expanding its oil production at the expense of the climate, there are some pro-environment issues tied in with the agreements too. For one, drilling for oil in the UK is estimated to be four times less harmful to the environment than importing oil, something that the country has had to rely on heavily in recent years due to the 2050 goals. As well as it being less harmful for the world’s environment, steps are being taken to reduce the impact on the local environment, as permission for two carbon capture plants has been granted outside Aberdeen and Peterhead. The increased use of fossil fuels can be seen across the globe; a UN Environmental Programme report found that by 2030, the world will produce 110% more fossil fuels than they currently do.
In conclusion, although the world says it is moving towards carbon neutrality, its actions say differently. An overreliance on imported fuel has led to an energy crisis in Germany, forcing the country to push back deadlines for climate goals and reopen coal plants. The US has grown its oil production under each administration for the past decade, and the UK has fallen under pressure to increase its production of oil. The economic benefit of using fossil fuels can’t be ignored, as each of these projects in the expansion of oil and gas promises to bring thousands of jobs and billions in revenue for local economies and government taxes
Written By – Paul Anderson
Position – President
Date – 29th October
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