Current:Home > MyOil, coal and gas are doomed, global leaders say in historic resolution -WealthRoots Academy
Oil, coal and gas are doomed, global leaders say in historic resolution
View
Date:2025-04-12 10:33:33
The world will soon be transitioning from oil, coal and gas – that's the consensus reached at an influential gathering of international leaders at the annual United Nations climate change meeting.
The agreement makes a historic acknowledgment: The world will soon be radically changing how cars run, how electricity is generated and how goods are transported.
“The world has spoken with one voice and the message is clear: It’s twilight for the fossil fuel era," Manish Bapna, president and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a written statement.
The U.N. says the deal marks a historic global first – a plan to create a road map to move away from fossil fuels. But it stopped short of what some climate activists wanted: a "call for a 'phaseout' of oil, coal and gas."
What is COP28, this international gathering?
Tuesday was the official end of COP28, the annual meeting of about 200 parties that have agreed to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, first adopted in 1992. The nearly two-week meeting came at what scientists say is a critical moment in the fight to keep the already dangerous effects of climate change from tipping into a catastrophe.
Negotiations to hammer out the final deal continued overnight into Wednesday, U.N. officials said.
Did anything else noteworthy happen at COP28?
The commitment to transition from fossil fuels wasn't the only major news to come out of this year's gathering. Nations also agreed to stick to a crucial climate goal: limiting global temperature rise to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit.
This looming threshold will dictate the future of planet Earth. It could have cascading effects on how hot the planet gets, how much seas rise and how significantly daily life as we now know it will change.
All the nations that had signed the agreement pledged to try as hard as possible to keep the global average temperature increase below 2.7 degrees, and specifically to keep it below a 3.6-degree rise. (The agreement articulated this promise in Celsius, which most of the world uses to measure temperature. That comes out to smoother-sounding 2.0 degrees Celsius and 1.5 degrees Celsius benchmarks.)
Why is the end of fossil fuels so important to climate change goals?
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said sticking to the 2.7-degree goal “will be impossible without the (phaseout) of all fossil fuels."
As people began burning more fossil fuels in the mid-19th century, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere increased. Before the Industrial Revolution, the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere – which is what causes global warming – was 280 parts per million.
The measurement now is 421.47 parts per million.
The difference between 280 parts per million and 418 might not seem like a lot, but it means humans have generated an estimated 1.5 trillion tons of carbon dioxide pollution in the past 150 years.
That means the blanket around Earth has gotten thicker, and it's already having an effect.
What is carbon dioxide?Here's what to know and a look at how it contributes to global warming.
Why is the 2.7-degree climate change threshold so important? Will humanity succeed?
Recent research estimated humanity has only about six more years before the amount of carbon dioxide that has been pumped into the atmosphere will make it nearly impossible to reverse course. There will only be a 50% chance of staying below the threshold once that happens, according to the research.
Ahead of this year's gathering, there had been some discussion about moving the goal post and accepting a warmer planet.
But experts say doing so could have disastrous consequences.
The Earth is already 1.1 degrees Celsius, about 2 degrees Fahrenheit, warmer than it was in the 1800s. And it's warming fast.
Limiting global warming to the 2.7-degrees goal will be difficult and still result in a less reliable and more chaotic climate than the one we live with today. But research shows that a less ambitious goal would verge on a cataclysmic scenario like you'd see in a blockbuster movie.
Using published research and reports from the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Carbon Brief laid out the likely measurable difference between a world that is 2.7 degrees warmer and one that is 3.6 degrees warmer:
◾ Sea level rise by 2100 of 18 inches versus 22 inches.
◾ Chance of an ice-free Arctic summer of 10% versus 80%.
◾ Central U.S. warm spells last 10 days versus 21 days.
◾ Percentage of people facing at least one severe heat wave in five years is 14% vs. 37%
veryGood! (1)
Related
- Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
- Lawyer defending New Hampshire in youth center abuse trial attacks former resident’s credibility
- The Many Colorful Things Dominic West Has Said About Cheating and Extramarital Affairs
- Rapper Chris King Dead at 32 After Shooting: Justin Bieber, Machine Gun Kelly and More Pay Tribute
- Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
- One dead, 7 missing after 2 Japanese navy choppers crash in Pacific
- Hotter temperatures mean higher utility costs for millions of Americans
- Judge OKs phone surveys of jury pool for man charged in 4 University of Idaho student deaths
- 2025 'Doomsday Clock': This is how close we are to self
- Man charged with hate crime for vandalizing Islamic center at Rutgers, prosecutors say
Ranking
- Bodycam footage shows high
- When red-hot isn’t enough: New government heat risk tool sets magenta as most dangerous level
- Lyrid meteor shower to peak tonight. Here's what to know
- Public health alert issued over ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli
- Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
- 2024 NFL mock draft: Six QBs make first-round cut as trade possibilities remain
- A suburban Seattle police officer faces murder trial in the death of a man outside convenience store
- Lawmakers criticize CIA’s handling of sexual misconduct but offer few specifics
Recommendation
Questlove charts 50 years of SNL musical hits (and misses)
Celebrity designer Nancy Gonzalez sentenced to prison for smuggling handbags made of python skin
Olivia Munn Shares How Son Malcolm Helped Lift Her Up During Rough Cancer Recovery
Trump could avoid trial this year on 2020 election charges. Is the hush money case a worthy proxy?
Meet first time Grammy nominee Charley Crockett
Aaron Boone ejected from Yankees game after fan appears to yell something at umpire
Nelly Korda puts bid for 6th straight victory on hold after withdrawing from Los Angeles tourney
Jelly Roll was bullied off the internet due to weight, wife Bunnie XO says: 'It hurts him'