BookRix

Climate change is no longer a distant threat—it is a present-day crisis affecting every sector, every region, and every community. Rising temperatures, shifting weather patterns, melting glaciers, and extreme events like floods and droughts all point to a world struggling to remain in balance. At the center of this disruption lies a persistent and growing buildup of greenhouse gases (GHGs), largely from the burning of fossil fuels. The upstream oil and gas sector—responsible for extracting and processing hydrocarbons before they reach consumers—plays a pivotal role in this equation.

Understanding the scope and scale of the climate challenge is the first step toward developing effective strategies for mitigation. In this chapter, we explore the science of climate change, the global response, and the upstream sector’s contribution to the problem and its potential to be part of the solution.