…An EU ban on new oil, gas and coal projects would be perfectly feasible, according to a new legal analysis published today by Greenpeace EU. With average global temperatures tipping over 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels for the first time in 2024, the urgency to address the climate crisis is only growing, said Greenpeace.

Fossil fuels are by far the largest contributor to the global climate crisis, accounting for over 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90% of all CO2 emissions. A growing number of governments recognise the need to phase out oil, gas and coal, and the International Energy Agency and International Institute for Sustainable Development both say that new fossil fuel developments must stop if we are to drop carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050 and avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis…

The legal analysis found that the EU can propose and pass a legislative ban on new fossil fuel projects on its territory. The analysis says that such a ban is required for the EU to meet its climate and human rights commitments, and that the EU has competence to do so as it is a joint response to the climate crisis that faces the EU as a whole….