World must completely decarbonise within four decades

T

he world must almost completely decarbonise in the next 30-35 years, and the vast majority of fossil fuels be left in the ground, if we are to have any hope of tackling climate change effectively, a new Climate Council report has warned.

The warning is based on one of the major findings of the report: that the scientific case behind 2°C as a “safe” level of global warming – a figure that has underpinned climate policies around the globe – is rapidly weakening.

The report – Growing Risks, Critical Choices, released on Tuesday – finds that, compared to four years ago when the Climate Council’s Critical Decade report was published, the risks of climate change now looks more serious at lower levels of warming.

Read Sophie Vorath’s story on Reneweconomy - “2°C not‘safe’: World must ‘completely decarbonise’ in 30 years”.