The United States exceeded Russia and Saudi Arabia in terms of oil production. American scientists, however, warn that the “shale gale” in the United States will lead not only to the largest carbon dioxide emissions, but also bring the world even closer to a climate catastrophe, the journalist of the German edition stresses.
The “shale gale” helped the United States to become the world leader in oil production, thus overtaking not only Saudi Arabia, but also the Russian Federation, writes the German edition of Telepolis.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), this year the United States may increase production by another 1.1 million barrels. Thus, by March, the United States can exceed the maximum possible production volumes in Russia and Saudi Arabia, the author of the article Florian Rötzer reports.
However, in its report, the American non-profit organization Oil Change International and its partners are warning: the shale gale in the United States, which is supporting the government in Washington, to “achieve energy sovereignty and make other countries dependent on American shale oil and gas, will lead to the largest carbon dioxide emissions and bring the world even closer to a climatic catastrophe, ”emphasizes the Telepolis journalist.
In the next 30 years, due to increased oil and gas production in the United States, an additional 120 billion tons of carbon dioxide will be released into the atmosphere. The problem also lies in the fact that 90% of the new volumes of oil and gas will be produced in the United States by the method of hydraulic fracturing (fracking), and this is one of the “dirtiest” production methods, specifies Florian Rötzer.
The head of the White House, Donald Trump, in turn, challenged global warming, left the Paris climate agreement and is doing everything to ensure that the United States does not play a leading role in the fight against global warming, the journalist of the German edition notes.