Time is running out to protect Earth from the disastrous effects of climate change. An international team of eight researchers said we have just 10 years to save the planet. But their news isn’t all bad: they’ve come up with a model for balancing carbon dioxide emissions with carbon sinks, like forests, to keep temperatures from passing the 1.5 degree Celsius mark widely considered safe for life as we know it.

Continue reading below
Our Featured Videos

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, climate change, climate, global warming, temperature increase, rising temperatures, Paris agreement, carbon, carbon dioxide, emissions, carbon emissions, carbon dioxide emissions, greenhouse gas, greenhouse gases, greenhouse gas emissions, carbon sink, carbon sinks, deforestation, reforestation, Earth, planet, environment, energy, renewable energy, fossil fuels

Scientists say if the world actually intends to stick to the Paris agreement, the next decade will be critical. They say there are two ways to reduce carbon emissions: by slashing the emissions we humans produce and by restoring carbon sinks, and it’s time to take action on both. They detailed their plan in a Nature Communications study, published online yesterday.

Related: Scientists say Trump’s presidency could lead to a “game over” scenario for the planet

World Bank consultant Brian Walsh, who led the study while doing research for the Austria-based International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), said they scrutinized carbon emissions from fossil fuels, agriculture, food production, bioenergy, and land use. They also accounted for natural ecosystems taking in carbon emissions to determine where they originate and where they go.

Here’s the recommendation: we must reduce fossil fuel use to the point where it’s under 25 percent of the global energy supply by 2100; it’s at 95 percent right now. And we need to reduce deforestation to attain a 42 percent decrease in emissions by 2100.

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, climate change, climate, global warming, temperature increase, rising temperatures, Paris agreement, carbon, carbon dioxide, emissions, carbon emissions, carbon dioxide emissions, greenhouse gas, greenhouse gases, greenhouse gas emissions, carbon sink, carbon sinks, deforestation, reforestation, Earth, planet, environment, energy, renewable energy, fossil fuels, wind, wind power, wind energy, wind turbine, wind turbines

Renewable energy is also part of the answer. The researchers considered four scenarios for energy development in the future. A high-renewable scenario would see wind, solar, and bioenergy use increase by five percent a year so emissions would peak by 2022. Even that pathway would lead to a 2.5 degrees Celsius temperature increase if we don’t also employ negative emissions technologies.

IIASA Energy Program Director and co-author Keywan Riahi said, “Earlier work on mitigation strategies by IIASA has shown the importance of demand-side measures, including efficiency, conservation, and behavioral change. Success in these areas may explain the difference between reaching 1.5 degrees Celsius instead of 2 degrees Celsius.”

Via the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis and EcoWatch

Images via Wikimedia Commons and Pixabay