Fossil fuels must remain underground, scientists warn

Nearly 60 percent of oil and gas reserves and 90 percent of coal must remain underground. Scientists point out that it will be possible to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius. The BBC news portal informs about it. The scientists based their prediction on an analysis of global energy supply and demand. According to them, it is a "gloomy" but realistic assessment of "what science tells us is necessary." Based on this, they "sketched a scenario for the future", which leaves much less room for fossil fuel extraction than previous estimates said. Limiting the increase in global temperatures to a maximum of 1.5 degrees should, according to scientists, help avoid the most dangerous effects of climate change. Therefore, according to scientists, the production of fossil fuels should reach its peak in 2020 worldwide and then gradually decrease by 3 percent every year until 2050. "During the covid pandemic, we have seen a significant drop in production, but it is returning to its previous level," energy systems expert Steve Pye of University College London (UCL) told BBC News. Research will focus on how much energy is needed and what the limit on carbon emissions must be. "We will tell our model, 'Meet all these requirements from now until 2100 without emitting too much carbon dioxide.' The result is a significant reduction in fossil fuels - and the amount of fossil fuels remains underground - simply because the carbon budget is so limited, "explained James Price, who also works at UCL. The carbon budget represents the cumulative amount of carbon dioxide that humanity can release into the atmosphere over a given period of time while keeping warming below a set value, in this case 1.5 degrees Celsius. According to scientists, many fossil fuel extraction projects that are still planned or are already being worked on are very likely to damage humanity's chances of reaching the internationally agreed limits set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement. And this "gloomy picture" is, in their view, "very likely an underestimation of what is needed."