We’ve long known that fossil fuels harm our planet. Now, scientists have developed a tool developed hold fossil fuel companies – and the governments that approve their projects – accountable.
It’s called the Carbon Impacts Tracer, and it can estimate the damage an individual coal, gas or oil project could cause to people and nature, making the consequences clearer. It works by linking a project’s carbon dioxide emissions to additional global warming, then estimates the consequences, from melting glaciers to to coral reef damage. As governments continue to approve fossil fuel projects, it offers a way to better understand their potential human and environmental costs, and push for greater accountability.
Below, we break down how the Carbon Impacts Tracer works and why it matters.
It’s about accountability
As discussed in The Conversation, companies and governments often argue that one new fossil fuel project makes only a tiny contribution to global emissions, making its individual impact difficult to measure. But the Carbon Impacts Tracer challenges this very argument. Even a small increase in global temperature can have measurable consequences when it affects millions of people and key areas of our planet.
How does the Carbon Impacts Tracer work?
The tool uses scientific research to:
- Calculate emissions by finding out how much carbon dioxide is the project expected to produce.
- Estimate the warming by finding out how much of those emissions will add to the planet’s temperature.
- And estimate the damage by finding out what that extra warming means for people and the environment.
What kind of damage can it estimate?
Currently the tool can cover the climate impact for unfamiliar levels of heat, heat-related deaths, crop loss, melting glaciers, and coral bleaching. At this time those are the only consequences reported that can be traced.
They have already called out Western Australia’s Scarborough gas project
Six experts from Australia and the UK last year used the Carbon dioxide Tracer to release research relating to emissions that the project will create. It was found that it will:
- Expose an additional 516,000 people worldwide to unprecedented heat.
- Contribute to 484 additional heat-related deaths in Europe by 2100.
- Cause the loss of millions more coral colonies during each future mass bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef.
Who can use the tool?
Communities, governments, insurers and businesses could use the tool to understand the consequences of fossil fuel projects better. It can also provide evidence for climate related legal cases, however, the tool does not determine legal responsibility, it can only assist in the case.
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