Climate change will reach the ‘point of no return’ – where dangerous climate change will spark droughts, heatwaves, hurricanes and floods – if vital changes are not made by 2035, scientists have warned.

They have said that Earth is warming so quickly that if we do no start using renewable energy within the next 17 years, the planet will come to its ‘tipping point’.

This is the deadline for achieving the required reductions in carbon dioxide emissions from road traffic, homes and industry.

Climate change will have reached its ‘point of no return’ by 2035 if we do not start using more renewables (Picture: Getty)

If the reductions are not met in time, it is ‘unlikely’ that global warming will be limited below 2°C in 2100 – the target set by the 2015 Paris Agreement – scientists have said.




The British and Dutch team say the cut off point for the more ambitious goal of keeping the change below 1.5°C has already passed, meaning it is no longer even a possibility.

By using information from climate models, scientists for the European Geosciences Union journal, Earth System Dynamics, identified the latest possible year when dramatic cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions can begin.

Beyond this, it will be too late to avoid dangerous climate change – sparking more droughts, heatwaves, hurricanes and floods. Sea levels could rise by up to four feet, the scientists said.

The Arctic Ocean is already expected to be ice free by the middle of the century.

Co-author Professor Henk Dijkstra, of Utrecht University in the Netherlands, said: ‘In our study we show there are strict deadlines for taking climate action.

‘We conclude very little time is left before the Paris targets to limit global warming to 1.5°C or 2°C become unfeasible even given drastic emission reduction strategies.’

The Arctic Ocean is already expected to be ice free by the middle of the century (Picture: Getty)

Researchers predict a 67% likelihood of being successful at keeping global warming below 2°C in 2100, depending on how fast humanity can reduce emissions.

This would require increasing the use of more sunlight, geothermal heat, wind, tides, water and various forms of biomass instead of fossil fuels.

Assuming we could increase the share of this renewable energy by 2% every year, we would have to start doing so before 2035.

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This is ‘the point of no return’, said the researchers.

If we were to reduce emissions at a faster rate, by increasing the share of renewable energy by 5%, we would buy another ten years – giving us until 2045.

If we are going to limit global warming to 1.5°C in 2100, we only have until 2027 to start increasing the share of renewable energy by 5%.

Removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, by using ‘negative emissions’ technology, could buy us a bit more time, according to the study.

But scientists have said we have to make changes before 2027 to have any chance of making a real difference (Picture: Getty)

This summer a worldwide heatwave that ravaged countries across the world, endangering young children and the elderly, were a stark warning of the effects of climate change.

Wildfires raged across the UK, California and even the Arctic as temperatures rose across the globe.

This will become the norm, the study’s authors said.



Professor Dijkstra added: ‘We hope that “having a deadline” may stimulate the sense of urgency to act for politicians and policy makers.

‘Very little time is left to achieve the Paris targets.’

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