Climate Changed

Climate Crisis Spurs UN Call for $2.4 Trillion Fossil Fuel Shift

  • World on track to warm 3 degrees, overshooting 2015 Paris goal
  • UN panel releases report on capping warming at 1.5 degrees
Why the UN Foresees a Grim Climate Future
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The world must invest $2.4 trillion in clean energy every year through 2035 and cut the use of coal-fired power to almost nothing by 2050 to avoid catastrophic damage from climate change, according to scientists convened by the United Nations.

Their report published Monday adds pressure on policymakers and businesses to step up their response to global warming, which is boosting sea levels, making storms more violent and exacerbating poverty. The atmosphere is already almost 1 degree Celsius (1.8 Fahrenheit) hotter than it was at the start of the industrial revolution and on track to rise 3 degrees by 2100, according to the report. That’s double the pace targeted under the 2015 Paris climate agreements endorsed by almost 200 nations.