But while these projects are the highest profile, they are just the tip of the iceberg. Beneath them, lie a whole pipeline of prospective coal, oil and gas developments that will sink the UK’s climate efforts unless the government urgently changes direction.

Beyond these UK projects, the government is still supporting fossil fuel projects abroad. This includes $1.15bn it recently pledged to finance a massive gas project in Mozambique, one of the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis . We estimate that this could emit a staggering 4.5bn tonnes of CO2-equivalent over the project’s lifecycle, which is as much as the annual emissions of the entire African continent. Friends of the Earth is legally challenging the UK government’s decision to back the Mozambique project in a case that goes to court on 7 December.

In their applications, none of these projects take into account the emissions from the end-use of the coal, oil or gas they plan to produce, whether it’s burned in steel plants, home boilers, vehicles or turned into other products like plastic. Fossil fuel companies argue that these emissions are out of their control and so only look at their own ​“upstream” or production emissions when assessing their impact. But as our analysis shows, the vast majority of emissions occur not when fossil fuels are extracted from the ground, but where they are actually used. When this is taken into account, it’s clear that no new fossil-fuel projects are compatible with our climate objectives. That’s why the government must end its support for fossil fuels at home and abroad once and for all, and support poorer countries to do the same, ensuring a just transition for workers and communities in the process.

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