The need to limit CO2 emissions becomes more urgent every year, as we see more and more extreme climate disasters. Yet the U.S., India, China, and Russia have planned more than 24,000 kilometers (about 15,000 miles) of new oil pipelines around the world, according to a report by Global Energy Monitor. Burning the oil that would move through these pipelines would produce more than 4.6 billion tons of CO2 per year. Already, more than 10,000 kilometers of these planned pipelines are under construction.
The planned pipelines are expected to cost about $75 billion. Oil companies have been able to spend this much money on new pipelines because of record profits in 2021 and 2022. If these pipelines are completed and used, they stand to generate even more profit.
But these profits are incompatible with life, because the oil that is transported through those pipelines to be burned will contribute to further climate disruption. Even as scientists have stressed the urgency of limiting global heating to 1.5 °C or even 2.0 °C, the capitalist governments show no real intention to mitigate the looming climate disaster. Instead, they intend to hasten it for profit!
The capitalist system has shown itself to be unable to prevent disaster. Instead of letting capitalism destroy life on this planet, we must destroy capitalism and replace it with a system that is compatible with life.
