Over 500 scientists support urgent climate declaration

Hundreds of scientists have signed an urgent declaration calling on world leaders and politicians to "act now and quickly" on climate change, reports... Euronews.

The Dartington Declaration argues that humanity will be "pushed into the danger zone" if greenhouse gas emissions are not halved by 2030 compared to 2010 levels and then reach net zero by 2050.

Coordinated by the University of Exeter and WWF UK, the declaration follows the Global Turning Points 2025 Report, which recently warned that the Earth has reached its first catastrophic climate tipping point due to the unprecedented extinction of coral reefs.

So far, the document has been supported by 583 scientists and 579 other supporters, all with a doctorate or higher.

"The future of the planet hangs in the balance"

"If we wait, it will be too late. Policymakers and civil society must come together to prevent further negative tipping points from being reached and to seize the opportunities of positive tipping points. The future of the planet hangs in the balance. Which direction it will take depends on our actions now and in the years to come," the declaration said.

The document calls for an unprecedented reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions, a move that would prove impossible without a rapid transition away from fossil fuels.

According to the UN, fossil fuels are the largest contributor to global climate change, accounting for about 68% of global greenhouse gas emissions and almost 90% of all carbon dioxide emissions.

The chances of a fossil-free future were set back at COP30 last month when the final agreement failed to include a roadmap for phasing them out. However, more ambitious countries will address the issue outside the COP process.

Carbon sinks

The declaration also calls for rapid scaling up of sustainable carbon removal from the atmosphere by protecting and restoring natural carbon sinks, such as forests.

If carbon sources are degraded or deforested, they can actually release stored carbon back into the atmosphere. This has already happened in parts of the Amazon rainforest, once called the lungs of the Earth, as well as in many forests in Africa and Southeast Asia.

Soil is another carbon sink, currently storing more than 2800 gigatonnes of carbon in the top one metre. However, current rates of degradation risk vast carbon reservoirs in soils being released into the atmosphere at a rate of 4,81 billion tonnes of CO₂ each year - roughly the same as the annual emissions of the United States.

Positive turning points

The declaration calls on world leaders to focus on triggering "positive tipping points" that can help accelerate the transition to low-carbon technologies and behaviors - preventing the Paris Agreement's 1,5°C temperature limit from being breached.

"An example can be seen in the sharply falling price and rapid deployment of solar energy and battery storage," the declaration added.

You can read the full statement from Dartington here