UN Secretary-General demands vanishingly unlikely hydrocarbon phase-out

He must know it will never happen. About 80% of global energy use is from oil, gas and coal, a figure that’s barely changed in recent decades as overall use has increased substantially, led by China. When the current inter-glacial period ends, as they all do, cooling will take over and sea levels will fall again. Until then, complaining about trace gases in the atmosphere leads nowhere.
– – –
The secretary-general of the United Nations has called on world leaders to phase out oil and gas from their economies and stop new exploration in hydrocarbons, says Oilprice.com.

Speaking in Tonga, during a meeting of Pacific Island leaders, Antonio Guterres said “This is a crazy situation: rising seas are a crisis entirely of humanity’s making. A crisis that will soon swell to an almost unimaginable scale, with no lifeboat to take us back to safety.”

The head of the United Nations also said “The reason is clear: greenhouse gases – overwhelmingly generated by burning fossil fuels – are cooking our planet. [Talkshop comment – water vapour is by far the main ‘greenhouse’ gas]. And the sea is taking the heat – literally.”

To avoid the apocalyptic catastrophe, Guterres urged world leaders to stop using oil, gas, and coal, and suspend further expansion in hydrocarbon exploration.

Guterres also issued a grim warning, saying that “Without drastic cuts to emissions, the Pacific Islands can expect at least 15 centimeters of additional sea level rise by mid-century, and more than 30 days per year of coastal flooding in some places.”

There have been predictions that places such as the Maldives would be completely underwater by now but so far these have failed to materialize. Nevertheless, Pacific Island nations are among the most vocal supporters of the global energy transition championed by the UN, arguing they are more exposed to the adverse effects of climate change because of changing sea levels.

In a call to the leaders of the G20, Guterres urged those countries to finance the transition as they can afford to shoulder a greater financial burden than poor Pacific Island nations and developing countries.

Full article here.