Climate-Vulnerable Nations Concerned About ‘Exported Emissions’

• The Paris Agreement of 2015 does not impose strictures on emissions from fossil fuels drilled, mined, and exported.

• Climate-vulnerable countries are arguing for accountability for pollution they send overseas, often to poor developing nations.

• Countries like the US, Norway, Australia, and others are making progress towards international climate goals while producing and exporting fossil fuels at a rapid pace.

• US fossil fuel exports led to over 2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions in other countries in 2022, equivalent to about a third of U.S. domestic emissions.

• Incoming president Donald Trump, a climate change skeptic, has expressed a desire to boost U.S. fossil fuel production.

• For other producers, greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel exports sometimes outweigh domestic emissions.

• Most U.S. gas exports now go to European countries to reduce dependence on Russia, while China has become a top buyer of U.S. crude and coal.

• North Africa is America’s biggest growth market for coal, with U.S. coal mines exporting around 52.5 million short tonnes globally in the first half of 2024, up nearly 7% from the same period a year ago.