{"id":147840,"date":"2021-09-14T13:55:36","date_gmt":"2021-09-14T23:55:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=147840"},"modified":"2021-09-14T13:55:36","modified_gmt":"2021-09-14T23:55:36","slug":"uh-scientists-fossil-fuel-treaty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2021\/09\/14\/uh-scientists-fossil-fuel-treaty\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> scientists join thousands calling for fossil fuel treaty"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"fossil<\/p>\n

On the eve of a United Nations General Assembly meeting, thousands of academics urged governments to negotiate an international treaty that tackles the climate crisis at its source, fossil fuels.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of academics across disciplines from 69 countries, including researchers from the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa<\/a>, delivered a letter demanding a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to manage a global phase out of coal, oil and gas to governments gathering at the UN<\/abbr> General Assembly.<\/p>\n

In the open letter, the academics recognize that the burning of coal, oil and gas is the greatest contributor to climate change—responsible for almost 80% of carbon dioxide emissions since the industrial revolution. Furthermore, they noted that, “air pollution caused by fossil fuels was responsible for almost 1 in 5 deaths worldwide in 2018.”<\/p>\n

The letter comes on the heels of last month\u2019s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC<\/abbr>) report, which was heralded as a “death knell” for the fossil fuel industry by the UN<\/abbr> Secretary General, Ant\u00f3nio Guterres and revealed that 86% of CO2<\/abbr> emissions in the last decade are from the burning of fossil fuels.<\/p>\n

“The most recent climate report from the IPCC<\/abbr> makes it clear that we are approaching dangerous tipping points if humanity does not lower carbon emissions immediately,” said Mark Hixon<\/strong>, professor of marine biology at UH<\/abbr> Mānoa. “As a father and grandfather, I am gravely concerned about our collective future. The solutions to this crisis are within reach—all that is lacking is political and corporate will.”<\/p>\n

Despite this, national governments plan to expand fossil fuel production at levels that would result in around 120% more emissions than what is in keeping with the Paris Agreement target of 1.5°C of warming.<\/p>\n

“Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and other islands are already facing ever intensifying effects of climate disruption, including altered rainfall patterns, avian malaria mosquitoes reaching endangered birds at higher elevations, coastal erosion caused by sea-level rise, and bleaching and dying coral reefs,” Hixon added. “We need to do our part to address climate change while we still can.”<\/p>\n

This effort is an example of UH<\/abbr> Mānoa\u2019s goal of Building a Sustainable and Resilient Campus Environment: Within the Global Sustainability and Climate Resilience Movement<\/a> (PDF<\/abbr><\/span>), one of four goals identified in the 2015–25 Â鶹´«Ã½<\/a> (PDF<\/abbr><\/span>), updated in December 2020.<\/p>\n

The full letter and list of signatories is available online<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hundreds of academics from 69 countries, including researchers from UH<\/abbr> Mānoa, have delivered a letter demanding a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[93,1314,1468,175,1473,73,9],"class_list":["post-147840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-climate-change","tag-manoa-sustainability","tag-manoa-sustainable-and-resilient-campus-environment","tag-marine-biology","tag-school-of-life-sciences","tag-sustainability","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t