The team analyzed the projected future global demand for oil and gas production, and for coal- and gas-fired power generation under a range of modelled scenarios that limit climate change to 1.5° Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
The group found that existing fossil fuel capacity is sufficient to meet the energy demands under these scenarios while the planet transitions to clean and renewable energy—and that new fossil fuel projects are unnecessary.
The research extends work by the International Energy Agency which found in a 2021 report (updated in 2023) that no new fossil fuel extraction projects are needed in the transition to net-zero emissions by 2050.
The new work expands on this by analyzing a broad range of scenarios compiled for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report that limits climate change to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels. Their analysis found that in addition…
