New Oil Projects Won’t Pay Off If World Meets Paris Climate Goals, Report Shows

Some companies say they are taking climate change seriously, but a new report found that billions of dollars in new projects approved last year would lose money if countries succeed in limiting global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius. Credit: Kevin Schafer/Getty Images The world’s leading oil companies increasingly have argued that they must be part of the world’s transition to a low-carbon future. But a new report shows that despite their rhetoric, they continue to spend their money as if that transition may never come. In just the past year, the biggest global companies committed billions of dollars to projects that will likely lose money if the world slashes fossil fuel use fast enough to meet the Paris climate accord goals, the report, released Thursday night, shows. That poses serious risks to investors. "While they may say they support the Paris Agreement, whatever that means, it’s not reflected in their behavior," said Andrew Grant, a senior analyst at Carbon Tracker Initiative, a financial think tank focused on energy transition. In effect, oil companies are giving the world—and their investors—an either-or proposition: Either their balance sheets go bust when oil demand plummets, or the world does as warming soars […]

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