Wealthy Nations Ramp Up Fossil Fuel Production, Betraying Climate Commitments

According to a recent analysis, four major fossil fuel-producing countries in the Global North – Australia, Canada, Norway, and the United States – have collectively increased their oil and gas production by 14 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) between 2015 and 2024. This is in stark contrast to the rest of the world, which saw a 2% cumulative decline in production during the same period.

The US alone accounts for more than 90% of this net global increase in fossil fuel extraction, driving up its production by nearly 11 million boe/d – more than five times as much as any other country. Meanwhile, Australia leads all top 15 producers in terms of the rate of increase, with its oil and gas output rising by 77% since 2015.

This surge in fossil fuel production by the Global North comes despite the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. In fact, the growth rate of atmospheric carbon dioxide, the primary driver of global warming, has increased by 2.6 parts per million per year between 2015 and 2024, compared to 1.5 ppm per year in the 1990s.

At the same time, the Global North has paid just $280 billion in climate finance to the rest of the world since 2015, which falls far short of the $1 trillion to $5 trillion annually that is needed to support a just and equitable transition away from fossil fuels. This has led to accusations of "double standards," as the Global North has repeatedly criticized petrostates for not reducing their production, while significantly increasing their own.