President Joe Biden is releasing 1 million barrels daily from U.S. oil reserves in hope of staving off gasoline inflation. Germany and other European nations continue to buy natural gas and oil from Russia, effectively undermining the pain of war sanctions. The stresses surrounding the global petroleum market should be hastening governments to lessen their dependence on fossil fuels, says Jennie C. Stephens, Dean’s Professor of Sustainability Science and Policy at Northeastern. And yet the world seems to be doubling-down on oil and gas in the short term in defiance of a disturbing report issued by the United Nations climate science panel Monday.
Greenhouse gas emissions must peak before 2025 to avoid the worst outcomes of climate change, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). “It’s now or never,” said IPCC co-Chair Jim Skea. “Without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, it will be impossible.”
Stephens says the conclusions are obvious.
