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  "authors": [
    "Deborah Gordon"
  ],
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    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
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Source: Getty

In The Media

From Conventional to Unconventional Oil

The shift from extracting, processing, and consuming conventional fuel sources to unconventional oils carries a host of still unknown consequences for international economics, technology development, and the environment.

Link Copied
By Deborah Gordon
Published on Sep 12, 2012
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Program

Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics

The Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics Program explores how climate change and the responses to it are changing international politics, global governance, and world security. Our work covers topics from the geopolitical implications of decarbonization and environmental breakdown to the challenge of building out clean energy supply chains, alternative protein options, and other challenges of a warming planet.

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Project

Carnegie Oil Initiative

The Carnegie Oil Initiative analyzed global oils, assessing their differences from climate, environmental, economic, and geopolitical perspectives. This knowledge provides strategic guidance and policy frameworks for decision making.

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Source: U.S. Embassy Berlin

Speaking at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, Carnegie's Deborah Gordon explained that the global energy supply is witnessing a major shift in petroleum sources as production of conventional oils plateau and will soon begin a steady decline. Unlike the mostly homogeneous oils the world community has increasingly extracted, processed, and consumed for the last forty years, unconventional oils are both more difficult to tap and more varied in characteristics, Gordon said. Unconventional oils, however, are still fossil fuels, which means their emissions of carbon dioxide still contribute to climate change. Because the international community is in the early stages of exploration and extraction, the regulatory system that is currently held for conventional oils may not safeguard against the new, potential harms of unconventional oil production, Gordon concluded.

About the Author

Deborah Gordon

Former Director and Senior Fellow, Energy and Climate Program

Gordon was director of Carnegie’s Energy and Climate Program, where her research focuses on oil and climate change issues in North America and globally.

    Recent Work

  • Article
    Petroleum Companies Need a Credible Climate Plan

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Deborah Gordon
Former Director and Senior Fellow, Energy and Climate Program
Deborah Gordon
Climate ChangeNorth America

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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