Following the landmark United Nations report, climate scientists said the path is clear — an immediate and sustained campaign to transform our energy system and reduce greenhouse gases.
“Ultimately, what it comes down to is that we need to dramatically reduce emissions and stop burning fossil fuels,” said Peter Frumhoff, director of science and policy at the Cambridge-based Union of Concerned Scientists.
He and others urged lawmakers and regulators to enact laws and rules that would:
- By the end of the decade, reduce carbon emissions by half what they were in 2010, and then effectively eliminate them by 2050.
- Eliminate the burning of fossil fuels such as oil and gas; ramp up the use of clean energy, such as wind and solar power; curb deforestation; and use agricultural lands more sustainably.
- Reduce the consumption of beef, which contributes to deforestation and a significant amount of emissions from cattle.
- Encourage farmers to better manage their soil and land, so they sequester more carbon dioxide.
- Invest in research to find ways to remove large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere, at reasonable costs.
- Prepare for the unavoidable impacts that the IPCC report says will happen no matter what policymakers do, including as much as a foot of sea levels rising by the middle of the century, more intense storms, greater flooding, and increased droughts.
- Invest in helping the most vulnerable adapt to all the consequences of a warming world, especially the impoverished and those who have the least ability to move or make changes to protect their homes or livelihoods.
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