UK has considered fifty new fossil fuel projects since COP26

A number of these have already gotten started in the UK after gaining approval from the government. At the beginning of this year, the Abigail oil and gas field was given the go ahead off the east coast of Scotland.

Travelling 450 miles down the nation, South Wales was granted an extended licence to mine 40 million tonnes of coal. Just weeks later, plans to expand oil production in several areas across England were also approved.  Thanks a lot, Boris.

The information outlined in The Guardian’s report is particularly concerning. It projects that the world’s largest oil companies are on track to spend a collective $103 million on ventures every day for the next decade.

What is this unimaginable sum of money going towards? Good question.

That money is going towards ‘carbon bombs’, or rather a coal, oil, or fossil gas project that has the potential to emit more than a gigaton of CO2.

And while this is ringing serious alarm bells for scientists, activists, and anyone with a basic understanding of how climate change works, it appears those in charge – and those who stand to profit financially – simply do not care.

Since 2011, scientists in the field of climate research warned that fossil fuels must stay in the ground in order to prevent global heating. They warned again in 2015 that at least 75 percent of the world’s reserves should stay in the ground to avoid ‘the worst effects of climate change’.

But it has become ever more clear that companies are prioritising their own financial gain over humanity’s wellbeing. BP’s boss even publicly described the company as a ‘cash machine’ in light of recent price increases.

The abandonment of Russian energy due to the war in Ukraine has only vamped up national government’s justification for looking to tap into fossil fuels on home soil.

‘As Putin continues to use gas as a geopolitical weapon, we make no apology whatsoever for sourcing more of the oil and gas Britain needs from within our own territorial waters,’ said a government spokesperson.

It’s difficult to imagine who – or what – will be able to stop it all from happening.