A team of researchers have determined that the ongoing rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) from burning of fossil fuels might be kept below harmful levels if emissions from coal are phased out within the next few decades.
The research has been carried out by climatologist Pushker Kharecha and James Hansen, director of NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
According to them, less plentiful oil and gas should be used sparingly as well, but that far greater supplies of coal mean that it must be the main target of reductions.
The burning of fossil fuels accounts for about 80 percent of the rise of atmospheric CO2 since the pre-industrial era, to its current level of 385 parts per million.
However, while there are huge amounts of coal left, predictions about when and how oil and gas production might start running out have proved controversial, and this has made it difficult to anticipate future emissions.
To better ...