The U.S. and other developed nations must take the lead in cutting fossil fuel emissions.
In December, world leaders will meet for two week in Paris for the 21st United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The climate talks are not expected to reach any binding agreement, but experts say that countries must agree to ending the global addiction to fossil fuels and come out with real targets for lowering emissions if the conference is to be deemed a success.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has stated that last year was the hottest on record, and the agency expects this year to break that record, according to Newsweek. Storms like Katrina and Sandy that wreak havoc on U.S. cities are becoming more common, and in the West wildfire have already ravaged 8 million acres of forests.
But experts say things may become much worse. Predictions suggest that, by the end of the century, drought may turn the Western U.S. into a new Dust Bowl, while rising oceans could displace millions of people in coastal cities including New York, Miami, and others.
International scientific and economic experts say that the climate changes could be severe and irreversible, and warn that human populations may not be able to adapt to the potentially rapid and devastating changes.
Current observations show that the planet is already nearly one degree of warming above the Earth’s temperature before industrialization and widespread reliance on coal, gas and oil. Scientists say that we must keep warming below two degrees, yet models suggest the planet will warm beyond that point by mid-century, with warming of up to a potentially catastrophic four degrees by the end of the century.
Experts say that Paris will only be a success if industrialized nations like the U.S. lead the way, with pledges to cut carbon emissions significantly by 2030. A road map to 2050 that includes energy plans for developing nations is the next step of a plan. Such a process needs to be transparent, they say, with measurable steps for assessing progress and financing for bringing developing nations renewable energy resources.
Experts note that, even if it is non-binding, a road map from Paris would be an important beginning of a longer process of meeting the climate change crisis.
