UN calls for ‘substantial reduction’ in fossil fuels to limit climate change

 The United Nations’ climate change panel is calling for a “substantial reduction” in the global use of fossil fuels in order to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. 

Warning there is limited time to act, the latest report from the panel says that by 2030, greenhouse gas emissions need to be cut by at least 43 percent to prevent 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming at the end of the century — a key threshold that would help the world evade much of the potential climate damage.

“We have a really, really stark task ahead of us,” said Stephanie Roe, a lead author of the report and global climate and energy lead scientist at the World Wildlife Fund. 

...To make the necessary reductions, the report calls for limiting the use of fossil fuels. 

Combustion of fossil fuels and industrial processes are responsible for about 78 percent of climate-warming emissions over the past several decades. 

In particular, the U.N. report calls for limiting the use of coal by 95 percent, oil by 60 percent and natural gas by 45 percent in 2050 when compared to their use in 2019...MORE