Six new members joined a fledgling international alliance to halt new oil and gas drilling during the COP26 climate meeting on Thursday. However, the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA) did not receive support from the host country, the UK and other major fossil fuel consumers. The absence of widespread support reflects the challenge to impose blanket policies to end fossil fuel production even as governments agree to greatly reduce emissions from burning them.
BOGA was formed by Denmark and Costa Rica in September. The latest six members include France, Greenland, Ireland, Sweden, Wales, and the Canadian province Quebec. Under the alliance, these members pledged to stop granting permits for oil and gas drilling before eventually prohibiting oil and gas production in their territories. However, none of these signatories has substantial fossil fuel production.
Denmark, France, Greenland, and Ireland have passed legislation to stop issuing licenses for new oil and gas drilling. France and Denmark also plan to end fossil fuel extraction on their territories by 2040 and 2050, respectively. New Zealand and California also joined the alliance as lower-tier members.
Major oil producers such as Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the US, as well as many developing nations in the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, will unlikely join the alliance anytime soon as they still need revenue from fossil fuels to improve living standards and pay for their eventual shift to green energy sources.
