Video - Fossil Fuels Must be Eliminated by 2100 (IPCC Synthesis Report)

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Synthesis Report there is no future for fossil fuels. The world must scale back the use of fossil fuels immediately and eliminate their use by 2100 if we are to avoid the worse impacts of climate change.

Infographic - Stranded Fossil Fuel Assets

Fossil Fuels are a Clear and Present Danger

Fossil fuels are the primary cause of climate change. This is not some distant concern it is with us today and destined to get worse -- far worse-- if we do not address our addiction to petrochemicals. The scientific evidence is clear and overwhelming, unless we stop burning fossil fuels soon climate change will radically undermine life on Earth.

The impacts of global warming are the most studied phenomena in the history of the world. A recent White House report written by hundreds of scientists confirms and the work of the thousands of scientists that contributed to the UN's IPCC AR5 report. Both studies come to the same conclusions as reams of previous research.

Thousands of scientists from diverse disciplines are virtually unanimous in their shared conviction that climate change is a clear and present danger. We need to appreciate that by burning fossil fuels we are jeopardizing the basic things we require for our survival, namely our air, water and food.

CERES calls for an Oil and Gas Climate Stress Test Today

Today, January 15, 2014, CERES will ask 48 of the world's leading fossil fuel companies to run a ‘climate stress test.’ The purpose of the exercise is to show that the core activities of the major oil, gas and coal companies are incompatible with mitigating global warming. The test also makes the point that these companies need to diversify beyond fossil fuels. Fund managers and investors are in New York for an annual summit hosted by Ceres at UN headquarters. US based global sustainability leader CERES heads a $12 trillion network of investors. CERES has organized a low carbon investor’s conference at the UN for the past six years. According to CERES data, shareholders in the US continue to show interest in disclosures regarding companies exposure to climate change risks.

One of the chief issues is a so called carbon bubble. This reflects worries about the $674 billion of fossil fuel investments that cannot be extracted if the world is to avoid dangerous levels of warming. Each year about a half a trillion dollars is being spent to locate new petrochemical sources. This is at odds with the low carbon economy. It is also incomprehensible in light of the fact that preparations are well underway that will arrest the growth of the carbon based economy.

Infographic - One Day in the Life of Big Oil

Graph of Fossil Fuel's GHG Contributions

Shell's Game with the Future of the Arctic

Questions are being raised about Shell's ability to manage its oil and gas drilling operations in the Arctic Ocean. The company is reneging on its emissions commitments and is already having trouble with the ships tasked to locate fossil fuels.

Right before it begins its drilling operations in August, Shell is trying to change the terms under which it was granted permission to drill. In an application to the agency, dated June 28, Shell said they cannot meet the requirements for emissions of nitrogen oxide and ammonia of an air permit granted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in January. Shell has asked the EPA to loosen air pollution requirements for its Discoverer drill rig and to a lesser extent its Kulluk drill ship. “This is a classic bait-and-switch.”

Lawsuit Protecting the Arctic from Oil and Gas Drilling

A coalition of conservation groups filed a lawsuit on July 16th to protect the Arctic Ocean from Shell's exploratory drilling scheduled to get under way in August. The legal papers filed in U.S. District Court in Anchorage challenges the oil spill cleanup plans for Shell Alaska's upcoming operations in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas. Shell claims it has already spend $4 billion on the drilling operation. The suit invokes the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, a tough law passed in the wake of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. This act imposes strict standards on companies in the Arctic Ocean involved with oil and gas drilling and transport.