["The oil and gas industry has lit a fuse on the Permian Basin
carbon bomb that threatens to blow up any hope of a livable future,"
said one campaigner. "Its time for Presidents Biden and López Obrador
to commit to ending the exploitation and destruction of our
communities."]
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GREENPEACE CALLS ON US AND MEXICO TO DEFUSE LARGEST CARBON BOMB IN
NORTH AMERICA  
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Kenny Stancil
January 10, 2023
Common Dreams
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_ "The oil and gas industry has lit a fuse on the Permian Basin
carbon bomb that threatens to blow up any hope of a livable future,"
said one campaigner. "It's time for Presidents Biden and López
Obrador to commit to ending the exploitation and destruction of our
communities." _

Gradual recovery has been observed in the basin, following the
pandemic-led demand crash , FreezeFrames on Shutterstock.

 

Ahead of U.S. President Joe Biden's Tuesday meeting with Mexican
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Greenpeace implored
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the two men to commit to ending all new oil and gas development in the
Permian Basin, increasing clean energy investments, and securing a
just transition for fossil fuel workers.

As detailed in a recent multimedia report, the Permian Basin—home to
two million people in West Texas and southeast New Mexico—was
transformed
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into "the world's single most prolific oil and gas field" during last
decade's drilling and fracking boom.

If fossil fuel executives' plans to expand extraction
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in the basin and boost exports
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from the Gulf Coast are allowed to go forward, experts estimate that
nearly 40 billion tons of carbon dioxide would be emitted by
2050—equivalent to 10% of the world's remaining "carbon budget," or
the amount of pollution compatible with limiting global warming to
1.5°C above preindustrial levels by the century's end. Meanwhile, a
recent study found that the basin's pipelines are currently leaking
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14 times more methane than previously thought.

"Mexico's updated climate goals
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can only be attained if both Mexico and the U.S. put an end to
exploitation of the Permian Basin," Gustavo Ampugnani, executive
director of Greenpeace Mexico, said Tuesday in a statement.
"Greenpeace offices in the two countries will campaign on all fronts
until Presidents López Obrador and Biden put their money where their
mouths are."

According to Greenpeace:

As both nations face increased threats from the climate crisis,
leaders from the U.S. and Mexico continue to incentivize the fossil
fuel industry to ramp up oil and gas production in the Permian Basin
and greenlight
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polluting fossil fuel infrastructure projects that will lock us into
decades of emissions. From drilling and refining operations in Texas,
to pipelines carrying Permian oil and gas through Mexico, the fossil
fuel industry jeopardizes the health and safety of communities at each
stage of the fossil fuel production process.

Last year, the U.S. became the world's top exporter
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of liquefied natural gas. "Around 70% of Mexico's natural gas supply
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is being met by U.S. pipeline imports," Greenpeace noted. "This is not
what climate leadership looks like."

"From drought and record heatwaves to stronger, more frequent storms
and flooding, we are living in a climate emergency."

Prior to last November's COP27 climate conference—which ended
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like the 26 meetings before it, with no blueprint for rapidly cutting
off planet-wrecking fossil fuels—the United Nations published
reports warning
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that due to woefully inadequate emissions reductions targets and
policies, there is "no credible path to 1.5°C in place," and only
"urgent system-wide transformation" can prevent
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a cataclysmic temperature rise of nearly 3°C by 2100.

According to the latest data, atmospheric concentrations of carbon
dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide—the three main heat-trapping
gases pushing temperatures upward—reached an all-time high
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in 2021, and greenhouse gas emissions only continued to climb
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Despite ample evidence
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that new fossil fuel projects will worsen deadly climate chaos
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oil and gas corporations—supported
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by trillions of dollars in public subsidies each year—are still
planning
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to expand dirty energy production in the coming years, including in
the Permian Basin.

"The oil and gas industry has lit a fuse on the Permian Basin carbon
bomb that threatens to blow up any hope of a livable future," John
Noel, senior climate campaigner at Greenpeace USA, said Tuesday. "The
technology
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to address the climate crisis already exists. It's time for Presidents
Biden and López Obrador to commit to ending the exploitation and
destruction of our communities at the hands of the oil and gas
industry."

"From drought and record heatwaves to stronger, more frequent storms
and flooding, we are living in a climate emergency," Noel added. "Last
year, President Biden said that he will treat it as such
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It's time for him to make good on those words by kickstarting a fossil
fuel phaseout and declaring a climate emergency."

Greenpeace's intervention came as Biden and López Obrador prepared to
engage in bilateral talks as part of the so-called "Tres Amigos"
summit in Mexico City, which also features Canadian Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau.

In the lead-up to the meeting, more than 100 progressive advocacy
groups from around North America urged
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heads of government to cooperate on mitigating the climate crisis,
ensuring the just treatment of migrants, and reducing gun violence.

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel
free to republish and share widely.

* Permian Basin; Gas and Oil Industry; Greenpeace;
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