As COP25 Kicks Off in Spain, a New Report Warns of Fossil Fuel "Production Gap"

Chilean Environment Minister Carolina Schmidt speaks at the opening of COP25 in Madrid. Credit: COP25

Delegates, civil society and government officials from around the world are gathering in Madrid, Spain this week for the next big international climate change conference, known as COP 25. On the agenda are strategies to accelerate progress towards the Paris Agreement Goals of limiting global warming to 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius.

But to reach the Paris Agreement goals, new research shows that countries need to dramatically reduce what is called the fossil fuel production gap.

This gap is the difference between the fossil fuels that countries are planning to produce in the coming years and the necessary reduction in fossil fuel production required to halt global warming to 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius.

The study was co-produced by a number of international non profit and research organizations and the United Nations Environment Program. The lead partner on this report was the Stockholm Environme…