State-owned fossil fuel firms' plan to invest $1.9tn could destroy climate hopes

Oil projects over the next decade would destroy hopes of meeting Paris climate goals, thinktank warns

The world's state-owned fossil fuel companies are poised to invest about $1.9tn (1.4tn) in the next decade in projects that would destroy any prospect of meeting the Paris agreement climate goals.

A large proportion of these investments are likely to become stranded assets, with at least $400bn unlikely to be profitable if the world sticks to its promises to hold global heating to less than 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial levels, according to a report from the Natural Resource Governance Institute thinktank.