US, Australia, Canada, Norway blocking progress on oil & gas phase out: Report

New Delhi: Four developed countries, including the US and Australia, are overwhelmingly responsible for derailing potential global progress on phasing out oil and gas since the Paris Agreement, while the rest of the world has either slowed or reduced fossil fuel extraction, according to a report published on Tuesday.

The report titled “Planet Wreckers: Global North Countries Fueling the Fire Since the Paris Agreement”, by research institution Oil Change International, said that the US, Australia, Canada and Norway together increased their oil and gas production by nearly 40 per cent between 2015 and 2024, even as combined extraction in the rest of the world fell by 2 per cent.

The US alone accounted for over 90 per cent of the net global increase in oil and gas extraction since the Paris Agreement, expanding production by nearly 11 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, more than five times as much as any other country.

Australia’s output rose the fastest among major producers, up by 77 per cent, while Canada and Norway expanded their production by 28 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively.

In contrast, several Global South countries, often called “petrostates”, such as Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Qatar have kept production stable or even reduced it.

The report said that while these nations are far more dependent on oil and gas revenues, they are still showing more restraint than rich countries with far greater capacity to transition away from fossil fuels.

The study found that while the Global North has expanded fossil fuel extraction, it has failed to meet its financial obligations under international climate agreements.

Since 2015, Global North countries have provided only USD 280 billion in grant-based climate finance to the rest of the world, a fraction of the USD 1 trillion to USD 5 trillion needed annually for a just energy transition.

Over the same period, oil and gas companies headquartered in these countries made more than USD 1.3 trillion in profits, five times the amount of climate finance delivered.

“Ten years ago in Paris, countries promised to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, which is impossible without putting an end to fossil fuel expansion and production. The rich countries most responsible for the climate crisis have not kept that promise. Instead, they have poured more fuel on the fire and withheld the funds needed to put it out,” said Romain Ioualalen, Global Policy Lead at Oil Change International.

“The fact that a handful of rich Global North countries, led by the US, have massively driven up their oil and gas production while people around the world suffer the consequences is a blatant mockery of justice and equity. These countries have a moral and legal obligation to move first to phase out fossil fuels and deliver the trillions needed in climate finance on fair terms to the Global South. Anything less is a betrayal of science and abdication of responsibility,” he said.