In response to the oil discovery near Gatwick airport in the South of England, 350.org Europe Team Leader Nicolò Wojewoda issued the following statement:
“The discovery is just another signal that, while people of common sense start debating and enacting how to keep 80% of existing fossil fuel reserves in the ground to avoid catastrophic climate change, the fossil fuel industry continues to recklessly explore for new resources.
Recent research [1] shows that the exploitation of existing oil, coal, and gas reserves would lead to a 9°C temperature increase with unimaginable consequences for life on this planet. We should be implementing solutions that avoid that catastrophic scenario, rather than finding ways to accelerate our path towards it.”
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[1] The New York Times: If We Dig Out All Our Fossil Fuels, Here’s How Hot We Can Expect It to Get (April 8, 2015)