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A new report from the International Energy Agency finds that countries need to take dramatic action immediately to prevent the worst impacts of climate change. Scientists agree that cutting greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 would likely keep global temperatures from increasing 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, which is the accepted threshold at which the planet faces irreversible damage. The new report reveals a sweeping road map of what it would take to get there.
The International Energy Agency is the world's leading energy agency, an international organization that advises world leaders on energy policy. This is the first time that the agency has released a detailed path to accomplish such dramatic cuts in emissions. The guide laid out by the agency includes steps to move faster and more aggressively, such as: stopping all coal plant approvals this year, unless they are outfitted with carbon capture technology; additionally stopping all new oil and gas field development beyond those already committed; by 2035, stopping all sales of new gasoline- or diesel-powered passenger vehicles, in addition to zeroing out all emissions from power plants; and by 2050, ensuring that all cars on the roads be either battery or hydrogen powered.
Within the United States, commitments are being made by both the Biden administration and state governments to lower emissions. However, other reports have also found that current actions are not adequate in order to hit established goals; for example, new modeling finds that Colorado is off-track to meet statutory climate goals.
Public lands will be an essential part of the climate solution in the United States. Research from the U.S. Geological Survey has found that fossil fuels extracted from public lands and waters are responsible for nearly a quarter of the United States’ greenhouse gas emissions. Options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from public lands include reducing methane emissions from drilling operations, prioritizing renewable energy development on public lands, managing land to absorb more carbon, and using public lands for other negative-emissions technologies.
Fossil fuel CEOs will be no-shows at hearing
Tomorrow, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing to examine the contributions of the oil and gas sector to jobs and the economy. The problem is that oil and gas representatives won't be present. The CEOs of three oil companies and two leaders from the Western Energy Alliance have all declined to attend the hearing, refusing to be held accountable for their actions to taxpayers who supply major subsidies to the industry.
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We see reintroducing the jaguar to the mountains of central Arizona and New Mexico as essential to species conservation, ecosystem restoration and rewilding."
