Buried assets

OIL giant Exxon Mobil is coming clean. Last week, the company promised to reveal how much of its oil, gas and coal reserves could end up locked underground forever as part of plans to halt global warming. It is the first major fossil fuel company to do so. To save ourselves from the worst impacts of global warming, we need to leave fossil fuels in the ground instead of burning them. Restricting global warming to 2 °C over pre-industrial levels could mean that up to 80 per cent of reserves may become useless, according to the Carbon Tracker Initiative. This would be bad news for oil and gas companies, whose shares could plummet in value. Exxon’s decision follows pressure from shareholder groups, “Restricting global warming may mean up to 80 per cent of oil, gas and coal reserves become useless ”  who are now calling for other oil producers to follow suit. The UK parliament is also concerned. Its Environment Audit committee this month  demanded more transparency on the issue.