December 5, 2019 Madrid, Spain - Today, the Global Oil and Gas Network held a press event at the UNFCCC COP 25 Climate Summit in Madrid, Spain to release a new report highlighting the fossil fuel industry's worst carbon emitters. The research highlighted the fossil fuel industry's plans for expansion in the next five years and found that 85 percent of expanded oil and gas production is slated to come from the United States and Canada over that period.

Disturbingly, this would be equivalent to building over 1200 new average U.S. coal-fired power plants in 2019 during the era of the global climate crisis. This new production could result in warming beyond 2°C unless government and industry rapidly shut down considerable levels of existing production. Twenty-five companies are responsible for nearly 50 percent of the production to 2050 resulting from new expansion of oil and gas in the next five years. These include supposedly progressive European oil majors, with the worst being Shell but also including BP, Total, Equinor.

One of the featured speakers was Dene, climate and Indigenous rights advocate, Executive Director of Indigenous Climate Action, Eriel Deranger. Deranger spoke about the hypocrisy of the Canadian government in their attempts to paint Canada as a global leader on climate, when in reality, they are one of the worst polluters on the planet. The newly elected Liberal minority government is currently considering the mega project, Teck Frontier mine, which Canada will approve or reject by February 20, 2020.

If developed, this unconventional fossil fuel project in the Canadian tar sands would be the largest tar sands surface mine ever proposed in the Alberta tar sands. A global carbon bomb, Teck Frontier would almost double Canadian fossil fuel exports. Located in the heart of Dene, Cree and Metis territory, and in the Athabasca Delta a UNESCO world heritage site, Teck Frontier would disturb a massive area and impact the last remaining free roaming buffalo herd left on Mother Earth and also critically endangered Whooping Crane habitat.

Watch Eriel Deranger Presentation:

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The report, “Oil, Gas and the Climate: An Analysis of Oil and Gas Industry Plans for Expansion and Compatibility with Global Emission Limits”, is a project of the Global Gas and Oil Network, supported by Oil Change International; 350.org; Center for Biological Diversity; Center for International Environmental Law; CAN-Rac Canada; Earthworks; Environmental Defence Canada; Fundacin Ambiente y Recursos Naturales:FARN; Global Witness; Greenpeace; Friends of the Earth Netherlands (Milieudefensie); Naturvernforbundet; Observatorio Petrolero Sur; Overseas Development Institute; Platform; Sierra Club; Stand.Earth.

Download Oil, Gas And The Climate Report: http://ggon.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/GGON-Report-Backgrounder_final.pdf

GGON Official Press Release: http://ggon.org/press-release-oil-gas-and-the-climate/