GLOBAL INDUSTRY
The science says we need to keep fossil fuels in the ground to meet climate goals. We’re pushing back against industry spin saying otherwise.
OVERVIEW OF WORK
The oil and gas industry is on a public relations campaign to convince investors, financial regulators, and the public at large that they deserve continued support as “part of the solution” to the energy transition. Oil Change is working to challenge these narratives and provide analysis to the financial sector, movement allies, and other decision makers to support a shift away from fossil fuel finance. Further, we are working to reform international energy scenarios that currently guide investment decisions towards failure in meeting the Paris Agreement climate goals and, concurrently, are used by the oil and gas industry to justify dangerous expansion plans.
Following years of campaigning and pressure by Oil Change and others, in 2021, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released its first ever fully fledged energy scenario aligned with limiting global warming to 1.5ºC. Critically, the IEA concluded that: “There is no need for investment in new fossil fuel supply in our net zero pathway,” and, therefore, “there are no new oil and gas fields approved for development in our pathway.” We are using the IEA’s conclusion that 1.5ºC alignment means no new oil and gas fields to hold governments, companies, banks, and investors accountable to backing up ‘net zero’ commitments with an end to new oil and gas finance.
LATEST PROGRAM POSTS
People all over the world are facing unprecedented crises from COVID-19. These tragic impacts will be the deepest in the world’s most vulnerable communities, regions and countries. IEA director Dr. Fatih Birol has urged governments worldwide to place clean energy at the heart of stimulus. Here Dr. Birol is right - but making this clean energy call count with real ambition is critical if the IEA wants to shake its reputation as a shill for the fossil fuel sector.
The IEA is embarking on a public relations effort that bears a striking resemblance to the spin coming from the oil and gas industry itself. This post takes a closer look at the IEA’s new spin, and why it's a dangerous distraction from real solutions.
By Laurie van der Burg
As the climate crisis wreaks havoc across the globe and we enter a decade that will make or break our ability to limit warming to 1.5°C, Big Oil continues to use the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) dangerous scenarios to justify major new investments in oil and gas, including in court. But a recent Dutch Supreme Court ruling suggests that these scenarios may not stand the test of climate litigation. With climate litigation rapidly on the rise, this gives yet another reason for the world’s main energy modelling agency to fix its scenarios if it wants to
The IEA's fingerprints were all over the failed UN climate talks in Madrid. And so, it was not hard to find them and set the record straight.
LATEST PROGRAM RESEARCH
Despite an array of new ‘net zero’ pledges released in the past two years, the climate promises of major U.S. and European oil and gas companies still fail to meet the bare minimum for alignment with the Paris Agreement, according to a new study.
This briefing gives financial institutions an overview of the IEA's first 1.5°C-aligned scenario and what it means for oil and gas. We show that the IEA's conclusion about ending new oil and gas field development is not a product of scenario design; it’s the arithmetic of 1.5°C.
The IEA has a crucial opportunity in 2021 to guide the world towards 1.5°C-aligned energy investment. We outline crucial steps the IEA must take to get on track.