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Conversations with scientists exploring science-based ways to protect the future of our planet, our children, and other creatures that share our World. We live on a planet in crisis. Scientists have warned us about the rapidly increasing dangers of climate change and destruction of the biosphere - specifically in the 1992, 2017 and 2019 World Scientists’ Warnings which were signed by 1,700; 15,000 and 11,000 scientists respectively when issued.

Aug 19, 2021

Since oil is a critical raw material for the running of global civilization, it is essential to anticipate how its supply may play out, against demand, in the coming decades. This must be considered in the broader context of our use of energy, overall, and of resources in general. The price of crude oil has crashed in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis and the consequent fall in demand for liquid transportation fuels. Ironically, it is the "success" of the shale industry, through fracking, that has provided much of the growth in overall global oil production during the past decade, and yet the current low oil price has put the future of this industry into jeopardy.

While it is true that plans to revitalise the global economy "post-covid" must also create substantial and permanent reductions in carbon emissions, the prevailing oversupply of oil will, in any case, be attenuated by the background fall in production from existing oil fields. This fall has, so far, only been offset by production from unconventional sources: mainly shale and oil sands. Professor Chris Rhodes provides informed perspective in this session from the Planet in Crisis summit. Rhodes is director of the Fresh-lands Environmental Actions consultancy. He has published over 250 articles and 7 books. He writes a monthly column for Scitizen.com on "Future Energies". He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Linnean Society of London, and the Royal Society of Arts.

This is the audio from a session held as part of the Planet in Crisis – Creating Action for COP26 global online summit. In November 2020, exactly one year before the official COP26 climate conference, Scientists Warning Europe organised this series of online Pre-COP events to raise awareness, push the conversation, show demand, and drive real action. Over 25 events were attended by more than 2,000 people from across the globe.

Scientists Warning Europe presents and promotes science endorsed solutions which will lead to a just transition for our World to a sustainable and equitable future. Learn more, sign up for updates, and support our work at https://www.scientistswarningeurope.org.uk

This podcast series is made possible through the generous help of The Overpopulation Podcast and the GrowthBusters podcast about limits to growth.


LINKS:

Scientists Warning Europe
https://scientistswarningeurope.org.uk/

All Three World Scientists’ Warnings
https://scientistswarningeurope.org.uk/warnings

Planet in Crisis Pre-COP Video Series
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyl1v07bfIaLHtXjYBtaca3YdlPaKC9Vx

GrowthBusters podcast
http://www.growthbusters.org/podcast/

The Overpopulation Podcast
https://www.worldpopulationbalance.org/podcasts

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