Fossil Fuel Projects, Stalled A Year Ago, Now Making A Comeback

"World leaders reckon with a flurry of new activity on natural gas and coal ahead of the climate summit".

"The U.N. climate summit in Glasgow last year ended with a resounding repudiation of fossil fuels, with countries including the United States signaling that it would be a costly mistake to move forward with big new oil, gas and coal projects.

The mounting calls to limit investment in such ventures seemed to resonate: Many major projects had stalled, struggling to line up financing as the world looked toward a future of cleaner energy.

But a year later, the fossil fuel industry is experiencing a remarkable rebound, with sudden momentum behind more than 80 projects that range from coal-fired power plants to hulking gas export terminals, many of which could lock the world into decades of new greenhouse gas emissions.

The backsliding is occurring as nations grope for alternatives to Russian natural gas, cut off by sanctions after the invasion of Ukraine. It will be a major point of tension at this year’s global climate summit, which begins in Egypt on Sunday. It throws the global carbon budget into further jeopardy, threatening to deluge countries with far more fossil energy than they need to replace supplies from Russia."

Evan Halper reports for the Washington Post November 3, 2022.

Source: Washington Post, 11/04/2022