That is, if we burnt all our coal and FF etc, how much more impact would we make? Did we spend a third of all available FFs, coal etc? Less than that, more than that?
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According to the IPCC report dated Apr 2022, we need to reduce emissions by 45 to 50% by 2030, and by 2050 cut coal by 95%, oil by 60% and gas by 45%.
[https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/04/ipcc-report-mitigation-climate-change/](https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/04/ipcc-report-mitigation-climate-change/)
Yes, scientists have assessed the impact of the remaining fossil fuels on our climate. They’ve calculated a “carbon budget” – the amount of greenhouse gases we can still release safely. If we continue burning fossil fuels at the current rate, we’ll exceed this budget and worsen climate change. So, it’s crucial to use our remaining fossil fuels wisely and transition to cleaner energy sources to avoid more severe climate problems.
In terms of availability, known reserves of coal, oil and gas are vast and it will be 100s of years before coming close to using it all. We have likely not even used 1% of total reserves. Massive tar sand reserves in Canada, natural gas is under all continents and Venezuela is estimated to have oil reserves similar to Saudi Arabia.
It’s just more expensive than current reserves, so it’s left in the ground until it becomes economically viable.
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