US plan to exploit Venezuela’s oil could eat up 13% of carbon budget to keep 1.5C limit

Exclusive: ClimatePartner analysis shows how move would risk plunging Earth further into climate catastrophe

US plans to exploit Venezuela's oil reserves could by 2050 consume more than a tenth of the world's remaining carbon budget to limit global heating to 1.5C, according to an exclusive analysis.

The calculation highlights how any moves to further exploit the South American nation's oil reserves - the largest in the world, at least on paper - would put increasing pressure on climate goals, and risk plunging the Earth further into climate catastrophe.