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A quarter of the world's population lives within 5km of functioning oil, gas, and coal sites, likely endangering the well-being of more than 2 billion people as well as essential environmental systems, per first-of-its-kind analysis.

Global Spread of Coal and Gas Operations

In excess of 18,300 petroleum, gas, and coal sites are presently located in over 170 states globally, occupying a extensive expanse of the planet's surface.

Proximity to drilling wells, industrial plants, pipelines, and further oil and gas facilities increases the risk of tumors, respiratory conditions, heart disease, premature birth, and death, while also posing severe risks to drinking water and air quality, and degrading soil.

Immediate Vicinity Risks and Proposed Growth

Approximately over 460 million people, including one hundred twenty-four million children, now dwell less than 0.6 miles of coal and gas operations, while an additional 3.5k or so upcoming projects are now planned or in progress that could compel over 130 million more individuals to endure pollutants, burning, and leaks.

Most active projects have created contamination hotspots, converting nearby neighborhoods and vital environments into often termed disposable areas – heavily contaminated areas where low-income and marginalized communities carry the disproportionate load of contact to toxins.

Physical and Ecological Effects

The report outlines the severe medical consequences from drilling, refining, and movement, as well as showing how seepages, burning, and development damage priceless natural ecosystems and undermine civil liberties – especially of those dwelling near oil, natural gas, and coal mining operations.

The report emerges as world leaders, without the USA – the largest past emitter of climate pollutants – meet in Belém, Brazil, for the 30th climate negotiations during increasing concern at the slow advancement in phasing out oil, gas, and coal, which are leading to environmental breakdown and rights abuses.

"The fossil fuel industry and their public supporters have argued for many years that economic growth needs fossil fuels. But we know that masked as economic growth, they have rather served greed and earnings without limits, violated entitlements with near-complete impunity, and destroyed the climate, natural world, and oceans."

Environmental Negotiations and Global Urgency

Cop30 occurs as the Philippines, the North American country, and the Caribbean island are suffering from extreme weather events that were strengthened by higher air and ocean heat levels, with countries under mounting urgency to take decisive steps to oversee oil and gas firms and halt extraction, financial support, licenses, and use in order to follow a historic decision by the world court.

Recently, disclosures indicated how in excess of 5,350 oil and gas sector influence peddlers have been given access to the United Nations global conferences in the last several years, hindering emission reductions while their paymasters drill for record quantities of oil and natural gas.

Research Approach and Data

The statistical study is based on a groundbreaking geospatial project by scientists who compared information on the known positions of oil and gas operations locations with population information, and records on critical ecosystems, carbon releases, and Indigenous peoples' areas.

33% of all operational oil, coal mining, and gas locations intersect with multiple key ecosystems such as a wetland, jungle, or waterway that is abundant in species diversity and vital for carbon sequestration or where natural degradation or catastrophe could lead to environmental breakdown.

The true global extent is likely larger due to omissions in the reporting of coal and gas sites and restricted census data throughout states.

Ecological Inequality and Native Populations

The findings show deep-seated ecological inequity and bias in exposure to petroleum, natural gas, and coal mining operations.

Native communities, who comprise one in twenty of the world's population, are unequally exposed to dangerous coal and gas infrastructure, with one in six sites located on tribal areas.

"We're experiencing multi-generational struggle exhaustion … We literally cannot endure [this]. We were never the initiators but we have borne the impact of all the conflict."

The spread of oil, gas, and coal has also been connected with property seizures, traditional loss, community division, and economic hardship, as well as aggression, online threats, and court cases, both illegal and civil, against population advocates calmly opposing the construction of transport lines, drilling projects, and other operations.

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