The Critical Role of Transparency in Addressing the Production Gap

Summary

The public disclosure of verifiable and comparable information by governments and corporations is key to addressing the fossil fuel production gap. Such information can reveal the extent to which governments are supporting fossil fuel production, and provide insights into how countries can wind down production in light of the Paris Agreement’s goals.

Key messages:

• Verifiable and comparable information on fossil fuel production and support —
  from both governments and companies — is essential to addressing the production gap
• Existing transparency initiatives shed some light on fossil fuel production and its implications for meeting climate goals, but available information is incomplete, often inconsistent and scattered across various, mostly voluntary, government-driven and non-governmental efforts
• Governments should strengthen transparency by disclosing their fossil fuel production plans and projections, and how these align with climate goals. They should do this in their published national climate and energy plans, including in their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and their long-term, low-emission development strategies under the Paris Agreement
• Governments should require that both private- and state owned fossil fuel companies disclose their spending, project plans, emissions, and climate related financial risks, and do so in a consistent manner across countries

Read full report

This chapter is in The Production Gap: 2021 report. This year’s report presents the first comprehensive update of the production gap analysis since our 2019 assessment. The report also tracks how governments worldwide are supporting fossil fuel production through their policies, investments, and other measures, as well as how some are beginning to discuss and enact policies towards a managed and equitable transition away from fossil fuel production. This year’s report features individual country profiles for 15 major fossil fuel-producing countries, and a special chapter on the role of transparency in helping to address the production gap.