Presentation short abstract

We quantify the barrels, embodied emissions, and monetary value of all fossil fuel reserves that need to stay unextracted to mitigate the climate crisis, linking them to their corporate and state owners. The study reveals the scale of vested private interests in derailing action for climate justice.

Presentation long abstract

Every single fraction of a degree of global heating leads to exacerbated and unequally distributed human suffering. Every barrel of oil, gas, or coal that stays in the ground will get us closer to climate mitigation objectives and climate justice ideals. But there are vast particular interests that stand to lose much power if fossil fuel reserves are left stranded. Among these interests, one can be easily quantified: the financial value of lost investments and revenues linked to fossil fuel extraction. In this study, we take Rystad Ucube's database, the best available industry data, mapping all oil and gas reserves and linking them back to their corporate or state owners. Taking into account the capital investment, the expected operational costs, a range of future oil and gas price estimates, and the price of capital, we calculate the current net value of the known oil and gas reserves around the world. The same analysis will be produced for coal in collaboration with Global Energy Monitor. The study will produce a ranking of the companies and states with the most stranded assets around the world. The financial stakes these actors stand to lose if fossil fuels are left in the ground can serve as a quantification of their conflict of interest to justify their exclusion from climate and energy policymaking institutions, where the phase-out of fossil fuels should be discussed.