Fossil Fuel Giants Defy Climate Warnings as World Ditches Coal and Gas for Renewables

Despite mounting warnings from governments and scientists that global warming is a pressing crisis, the world's biggest fossil fuel companies are asserting that they will continue to extract coal, oil, and gas reserves from the ground. This defiance is accompanied by a growing trend of the world moving away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy sources. According to a recent report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, global new low carbon energy capacity has outstripped new coal, gas, and oil combined since 2013, as costs plummet.

Key Takeaways:

• Peabody Energy, the world's largest private coal company, has dismissed global warming warnings as "an environmental crisis predicted by flawed computer models" and argued that low-cost energy is the world's biggest issue.
• Glencore Xstrata, another coal giant, has stated that it does not believe governments will act to cut greenhouse gas emissions, despite warnings from the Bank of England and the G20 of a "carbon bubble" that could leave fossil fuel assets worthless.
• ExxonMobil has defended its interest in exploiting Arctic oil and gas reserves and the building of the Keystone XL pipeline to bring oil from Canada's tar sands to the US.
• Renewable energy capacity has outstripped coal, gas, and oil capacity since 2013, according to a report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
• 80% of coal reserves must remain in the ground if climate change is to be tackled, according to a recent study.
• The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that limiting the impacts of global warming is necessary to achieve sustainable development and equity, including poverty eradication.
• Ivan Glasenberg, CEO of Glencore Xstrata, has dismissed concerns that coal reserves could be left worthless due to international action to cut greenhouse gases, stating that the company does not believe "the global energy reality will economically support carbon measures."

Statistics:

• 80% of coal reserves must remain in the ground if climate change is to be tackled (Source: Recent study)
• Global new low carbon energy capacity has outstripped new coal, gas, and oil combined since 2013 (Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance)
• 4.3 billion tonnes of coal reserves owned by Glencore Xstrata (Source: Glencore Xstrata's sustainability report)
• Peak cheap energy is estimated to occur in the US by 2020, according to research by the Carbon Tracker Initiative (Source: Carbon Tracker Initiative)
• The world has 4.5 billion tonnes of proven oil and gas reserves in the Arctic, of which 70% are located on land and 30% are located in shallow seas (Source: ExxonMobil)

Sources:

• Bloomberg New Energy Finance
• Carbon Tracker Initiative
• Glencore Xstrata's sustainability report
• Greenpeace UK
• The Guardian
• The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
• ExxonMobil