Three-fourths of fossil fuels must stay in ground to save humanity

World leaders must stay committed to leaving at least three-quarters of all known fossil fuel reserves in the ground to avoid the worst effects of climate change, leading scientists and economists have appealed on the occasion of Earth Day.

"We have the choice to either finally embark on the journey towards sustainability or to stick to our current destructive 'business-as-usual' pathway," read the Earth Statement, written by 17 members of the Earth League, on Wednesday.

The Earth League, which includes India's Leena Srivastava from The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), is a voluntary international alliance of prominent scientists.

The scientists observed that the world leaders will meet three times this year to set the course for decades to come.

"In July 2015, heads of state meet to discuss Financing for Development. In September 2015, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be adopted. In December 2015, nations negotiate a new Global Climate Agreement. Decisions made in this single year will be the legacy of our generation," they noted.

The scientist demanded that the governments put into practice their commitment to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius.

"We need to fundamentally transform the economy and adopt a global goal to phase out greenhouse gases completely by mid-century," the statement said.