New study calls for strict limits on oil, coal to limit global warming

Researchers, from University College London, say that nearly 60 percent of the world’s oil and gas reserves and 90 percent of the coal reserves need to stay in the ground by 2050 for the world to meet climate goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Those limits would give the world a 50-50 chance to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times, according to their study published in the journal Nature.

“We believe on new paper adds further weight to recent research that indicates the global oil and fossil methane gas production needs to peak now,” Dan Welsby, lead author and an energy and environment researcher at the University College London told a news conference as per AP. “We found that global production needs decline at an average annual rate of around 3 percent (through) 2050.”

There has been scientific consensus that warming past 1.5 degrees Celsius would lead to catastrophic impacts, such as loss of species.