Oil and Gas Industry's Expansion Plans Decried as an attack on 'Livable Planet'. Fossil fuel giants are moving to ramp up extraction as new data shows that the industry has been emitting three times more planet-heating pollution than it claims. "Keeping these oil and gas resources in the ground is the bare minimum of what is needed to keep 1.5°C  attainable."The IEA made clear in its May 2021 report that no new oil and gas fields can be exploited if the world is to avoid climate catastrophe. But according to Urgewald, 96% of upstream fossil fuel companies (655 out of 685) are planning to expand their operations, and short-term expansion plans have increased by 20% since last year. According to Urgewald, 512 of these companies are currently "taking active steps to bring 230 billion barrels of oil equivalent (bboe) of untapped resources into production before 2030." If these fossil fuels are removed from the ground and burned, an additional 115 billion tonnes of heat-trapping carbon dioxide equivalent will be pumped into the atmosphere by the end of the decade. That's 30 times more greenhouse gas pollution than Europe generates each year. Urgewald's report comes one day after Climate Trace revealed in a separate analysis (graphically awesome!) that global emissions from oil and gas production are up to three times higher than reported. "The outcome of our calculations is truly frightening," Fiona Hauke, senior oil and gas researcher at Urgewald, said in a statement.                      https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/11/10/oil-and-gas-industrys-expansion-plans-decried-attack-livable-planet                       Check out the video .......  New data shows: Oil and gas companies are on a massive expansion course – 655 out of 685 upstream companies on GOGEL (96%) have expansion plans.          https://youtu.be/XO6uw_z7gVk                                  ......and.......                INTEGRITY MATTERS: NET ZERO COMMITMENTS BY BUSINESSES, FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, CITIES AND REGIONS REPORT FROM THE UNITED NATIONS’ HIGH-LEVEL EXPERT GROUP ON THE NET ZERO EMISSIONS COMMITMENTS OF NON-STATE ENTITIES-  United Nations’ High‑Level Expert Group on the Net Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities....... It’s Time to Draw a Red Line Around Greenwashing. . The International Energy Agency now believes we are at an inflection point that will accelerate the shift from fossil fuels towards a cleaner and more secure future. We need to make sure that happens. We know what we need to do: peak global emissions in just three years, by 2025, and cut emissions in half in less than eight years, by 2030. Money needs to move from funding fossil fuel infrastructure and instead be invested at scale in clean energy. The decisions made by governments and non-state actors today, tomorrow, and each and every day after will determine whether we meet this goal, and whether we meet it in a way that enhances equity, justice, empowers women, and respects Indigenous rights. Though countries need to take the lead, solving the climate crisis is not up to them alone. Non-state actors— industry, financial institutions, cities and regions —play a critical role in getting the world to net zero no later than 2050. They will either help scale the ambition and action we need to ensure a sustainable planet or else they strongly increase the likelihood of failure. The planet cannot afford delays, excuses, or more greenwashing.  Our report also specifically addresses the core concerns raised by citizens, consumers, environmentalists and investors around the use of net zero pledges that make greenwashing possible. Our recommendations are clear that........Non‑state actors cannot claim to be net zero while continuing to build or invest in new fossil fuel supply. Coal, oil and gas account for over 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions. net zero is entirely incompatible with continued investment in fossil fuels. Similarly, deforestation and other environmentally destructive activities are disqualifying........Non-state actors cannot buy cheap credits that often lack integrity instead of immediately cutting their own emissions across their value chain. As guidelines emerge for a high-integrity voluntary credit market, credits can be used above and beyond efforts to achieve 1.5°C aligned interim targets to increase financial flows into underinvested areas, including to help decarbonize developing countries.......... Non-state actors cannot focus on reducing the intensity of their emissions rather than their absolute emissions or tackling only a part of their emissions rather than their full value chain (scopes 1, 2 and 3)........Non-state actors cannot lobby to undermine ambitious government climate policies either directly or through trade associations or other bodies. Instead they must align their advocacy, as well as their governance and business strategies with their climate commitments. This includes aligning capital expenditures with net zero targets and meaningfully linking executive compensation to climate action and demonstrated results..........To effectively tackle greenwashing and ensure a level playing field, non‑state actors need to move from voluntary initiatives to regulated requirements for net zero. Verification and enforcement in the voluntary space is challenging. Many large non-state actors— especially privately held companies and state-owned enterprises —have not yet made net zero commitments which raises competitiveness concerns. This picture is changing fast, but it still requires the resolve of governments and regulators to level up the global playing field. This is why we call for regulation starting with large corporate emitters including assurance on their net zero pledges and mandatory annual progress reporting.      https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/high-level-expert-group     Full Report.......https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/high-level_expert_group_n7b.pdf