Home > Climate breakdown, Energy, Global warming > IEA: Idea that we have reached “Peak Oil” incorrect

IEA: Idea that we have reached “Peak Oil” incorrect

November 19, 2012 Leave a comment Go to comments

A new International Energy Agency report states that the idea of “peak oil” (that the world is essentially running out of oi supplies) is false. The IEA claims that, there are in fact plenty of fossil fuels reserves remaining in the Earth but that only one-third of them can be burned if we are to have any hope of arresting catastrophic climatic change.

As Damian Carrington writes in The Guardian:

But the truly global implications of the International Energy Agency’s flagship report for 2012 lie elsewhere, in the quietly devastating statement that no more than one-third of already proven reserves of fossil fuels can be burned by 2050 if the world is to prevent global warming exceeding the danger point of 2C. This means nothing less than leaving most of the world’s coal, oil and gas in the ground or facing a destabilised climate, with its supercharged heatwaves, floods and storms…We do not have too little fossil fuel, we have far too much.

Read more: sustainability news: Idea that we have reached “Peak Oil” incorrect.

  1. trthomas
    November 20, 2012 at 3:03 am
    Reply

    We haven’t reach peak oil, but peak oil is not quite what people think it to be. It’s not when there’s no more oil to be extracted, it’s when it’s too expensive to extract oil, anymore. I’ve read a report stating we’re at about 11:1 ratio of barrels extracted for every barrel spent. When the ratio reaches 3:1 ratio, there’s simply no more profit in oil.
    http://qz.com/24572/sandy-as-a-glimpse-into-our-future-americans-should-prepare-for-a-scarcity-of-resources-and-a-fight-for-survival/

    Also, The Independent has shown it’s wise to take with a grain of salt whatever the IEA puts out.
    http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/fracking-a-new-dawn-for-misplaced-optimism-8326346.html

    • November 23, 2012 at 10:33 am
      Reply

      Good points to keep in mind. Thanks!

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