ExxonMobil's outlook is the company's fantasy: Agency

ExxonMobil released its Outlook for Energy on Dec. 9, which it has published annually since 2005. It predicts that oil and gas use will expand throughout the period to 2040, and oil will remain the world's largest fuel source.

In the past, most international climate summits haven't given oil companies very much to fear. But with COP20 in full swing in Lima they may be getting more nervous, with proposals on the table to phase out fossil fuel emissions by 2050.

In new analysis, Oil Change International finds that ExxonMobil's outlook is not a forecast; it's actually the company's fantasy. This became clear as they looked deeper into the numbers.

"With negotiators in Lima considering a global phase out of fossil fuel emissions, Exxon's outlook looks more out of touch than ever. If one thing is clear coming out of Lima, it's that the oil industry is on the ropes and they're coming back swinging with fantasy projections of a oily future," said David Turnbull, Campaigns Director of Oil Change International.

Earlier this week at the UNFCCC climate talks in Lima, Oil Change International and Overseas Development Institute released new analysis shining a light on the disparity between climate finance pledged to the Green Climate Fund and massive public support for exploration of new fossil fuels.

The analysis showed public support from rich countries (so-called Annex II countries) for fossil fuel exploration totals some $26.6 billion per year, while pledges to the Green Climate Fund from those same countries come in at just over $9.5 billion.

This analysis uncovered that public support for fossil fuel exploration in rich countries was nearly triple the amount pledged to the Green Climate Fund.

"Spending public money on exploration for new fossil fuel reserves flies in the face of not just climate science, but common sense. We cannot afford to burn the vast majority of the fossil fuels already in proven reserves, so spending money to find more is a waste of public resources and a threat to our planet," said David Turnbull, Campaigns Director at Oil Change International.

The analysis is an extension of a report outlining public support for fossil fuel exploration in all G20 countries, released by Oil Change International and Overseas Development Institute in November of this year.

"Crawling out of the climate hole with one hand while digging it deeper with the other simply won't work. Public support for fossil fuels, and in particular for exploration for new fossil fuel reserves, needs to end. Now," Turnbull said.