(Washington D.C) A new study from Nature: International Journal of Science finds that existing fossil fuel projects make it a gargantuan task to limit the Earth’s temperature to below 1.5°C. Last year’s landmark IPCC report emphasized that a warming limit below 1.5°C is critical to mitigating climate catastrophe. Research within the new study states that commitments to creating new fossil fuel projects add nearly 200 billion tons of additional emissions to the total emissions, committing us to deadly climate impacts that arrest any major transformations in US climate policy.
The following is a statement from 350.org’s North America Director Tamara Toles O’Laughlin:
“The findings of this study are not news to 350.org. We have advocated relentlessly for a total phaseout of fossil fuels and an end to construction of new industrial, coal, oil, and gas plants, as an essential part of action on climate change. We stand with underserved and frontline communities who, for decades, have stood up to the fossil fuel industry and demanded accountability for the impact on our climate and community health, and for their long standing climate denial.
“The new study reiterates that visionary climate solutions must justly transition away from fossil fuels, starting with an acknowledgement that 1.5°C carbon budgets must account for planned and new emitting projects. This report reinforces the need for complete economic restructuring by way of a Green New Deal that creates millions of jobs for workers in a 100% renewable economy and actively keeps fossil fuels in the ground. We stand by the science, and furthermore demand that fossil fuel billionaires pay for the damage they have caused to people and planet.
“We call on all communities to join with us in holding those currently in office and those vying for the highest office of the United States to articulate their priorities and center bold climate action now. This report underscores our rationale for why we’re taking part in a multiracial, multigenerational day of action on September 20th. This global mobilization will take place across the United States and the world, to demand real action on climate that uplifts real solutions and phases out fossil fuel extraction.”
Press Contact: Monica Mohapatra, U.S. Communications Specialist, [email protected]