Study calls for strict limits on oil, coal to curb warming

By Drew Costley
AP SCIENCE WRITER

Climate scientists from University College London say strict limits on fossil fuels taken from the ground are needed to meet goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. Nearly 60% of the world’s oil and gas reserves and 90% of the coal reserves need to stay in the ground by 2050, they said, to give the world a 50-50 chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to pre-industrial times. Their study was published Wednesday in the journal Nature.