Global Fossil Fuel Reduction Pathways

The study analyzes IPCC Sixth Assessment Report mitigation scenarios to determine the speed and trajectory of fossil fuel reductions necessary to limit warming to 2 °C or below. It finds that pathways allowing for higher gas emissions rely heavily on carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR), which may be unrealistic due to poor model representation of storage capacity and technology diffusion. Consequently, the authors argue for the establishment of clear production and use benchmarks for coal, oil, and gas.

• Scenarios aimed at limiting global warming to 2 °C or below vary in the speed and feasibility of their fossil fuel reduction pathways, with those allowing higher gas levels depending on carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR).
• The reliability of higher-gas pathways is questioned because models likely fail to accurately represent regional CO2 storage capacity, technology adoption, diffusion, and path dependencies.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2023). Global Fossil Fuel Reduction Pathways. https://www.sei.org/publications/global-fossil-fuel-reduction-pathways/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Global Fossil Fuel Reduction Pathways. 2023. https://www.sei.org/publications/global-fossil-fuel-reduction-pathways/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Global Fossil Fuel Reduction Pathways |date=13 September 2023 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/global-fossil-fuel-reduction-pathways/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2023global, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Global Fossil Fuel Reduction Pathways}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2023}, month = sep, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/global-fossil-fuel-reduction-pathways/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }