Report | November, 2022
Beyond Expectations: Ocean Solutions to Prevent Climate Catastrophe
Oceana’s analysis finds that halting new offshore oil and gas drilling is an essential part of the climate solution. According to the analysis, stopping the expansion of offshore drilling — combined with the phasedown of existing production driven by reduced fossil fuel demand as clean energy comes online — would deliver up to 13% of the annual greenhouse gas emission reductions needed to prevent the worst effects of the climate crisis.
Adding offshore drilling to the five ocean-based solutions from the 2019 High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy report would take the total ocean contribution to nearly 40% of the emissions reductions needed by 2050 to keep the planet from warming a catastrophic 2 degrees Celsius. The analysis finds by stopping the expansion of offshore drilling and promoting clean energy policies worldwide, we could reduce emissions by 6.3 billion metric tons a year by 2050. That is equivalent to the annual emissions we would save by removing 1.4 billion cars from the road.
Media Contacts:
- Dustin Cranor, +1 954.348.1314, dcranor@oceana.org
- Anna Baxter, +1 302.229.9800, abaxter@oceana.org
