The UK and US are among a group of countries with a diminishing dependency on fossil fuels that are being criticised over their "hypocrisy" when it comes to net-zero targets.  

According to the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), exploration within new oil and gas licences could release 12 billion tonnes of climate-altering emissions into the atmosphere, contributing to the highest level of emissions since 2018.  

In 2015, the Paris Agreement was drafted, and ratified the following year, with most countries in the world agreeing to take the appropriate steps to cut carbon emissions and help prevent global warming. 

The deal was negotiated by 196 parties at the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference near Paris.  

Now, numerous fossil fuel companies are putting more money into developing new oil and gas sites, with billions of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions forecast to be emitted because of new licences in 2024, according to data shared exclusively with the Guardian.

As a part of the deal,  the world’s richest nations – including the UK and US – were obliged to lead the energy transition away from fossil fuels, using their relative economic power to do so.  

However, according to Harjeet Singh, global engagement director for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, the “hypocrisy of wealthy nations, historically responsible for the climate crisis, is staggering”.  

He added that they “continue to invest heavily in fossil fuels – putting the world on track for unimaginable climate catastrophe while claiming to be climate leaders”.  

He continued that despite “having the economic means to transition away from fossil fuels, these nations are petrostates, choosing profit over the planet and undermining global efforts to avert the climate emergency”.  

The Biden Administration has issued 1,453 new oil and gas licences since coming to power, half of the total licences issued across the globe.  

The UK also issued more licences than any other country in May 2024.  

The UK’s new Labour Government has pledged to stop new drilling, not issue new licences to explore new fields and help manage existing fields as they decline. However, it will not revoke existing oil and gas licences.