SEI INITIATIVE

The SEI Initiative on Fossil Fuels and Climate Change, launched in January 2015, focuses on the supply side of climate policy to prevent the 'lock-in' of fossil fuel dependence. The initiative investigates the emissions implications of infrastructure, the political economy of extraction, and the role of international governance. It employs a multi-disciplinary approach involving energy modelling and political economy analysis, with specific case studies in Colombia, South Africa, Indonesia, Norway, and the U.S. to examine the interplay between resource exploitation and low-carbon development goals.

• To limit global warming to 2°C, approximately two-thirds of all proven oil, gas, and coal reserves must remain undeveloped. However, current infrastructure projections suggest that by 2017, enough capacity will be online to lock in the remaining allowable CO2 emissions through 2035.
• Investment in fossil fuels remains dominant despite the rise of renewables; in 2013, over 1 trillion USD (approximately 70% of energy supply investment) was directed toward fossil fuel extraction, processing, transport, or power plant construction.
• The SEI Initiative focuses on the 'supply side' of climate policy, arguing that both demand- and supply-side approaches are necessary due to economic and political reasons, specifically how infrastructure and institutions create a dependence on fossil fuels.
• The initiative is developing methodologies to quantify how expanding fossil fuel supply infrastructure increases global greenhouse gas emissions, having already piloted this approach for the Keystone XL pipeline in the United States.
• International governance of fossil fuels is fragmented across multiple institutions—including the IEA, OECD, OPEC, WTO, and UNFCCC—none of which provide direct oversight, leading to potential conflicts or overlaps in the 'energy trilemma' of supply security, poverty reduction, and sustainability.
• The initiative uses case studies in Colombia, South Africa, Indonesia, Norway, and the U.S. to analyze countries with significant coal or unconventional oil resources that would be exploited under business-as-usual scenarios but must remain in the ground for a low-carbon future.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2015). SEI INITIATIVE. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-FS-2015-Fossil-fuels-climate-mitigation-initiative.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. SEI INITIATIVE. 2015. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-FS-2015-Fossil-fuels-climate-mitigation-initiative.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=SEI INITIATIVE |date=2015 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-FS-2015-Fossil-fuels-climate-mitigation-initiative.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2015sei, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{SEI INITIATIVE}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2015}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-FS-2015-Fossil-fuels-climate-mitigation-initiative.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }