How can we reduce global warming

As more than 8 million people breathed—and saw—the air of New York City last week, climate change went from faraway abstraction to clear and present danger. On Wednesday, the smoke lingered on a trip south from the city. It was thinning, yes, but even the beautiful view from the Susquehanna Bridge, in Maryland, was enveloped and lost. Welcome to the future. It's exactly what scientists—across a dozen disciplines—told us it would be. The smoke that choked the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, parts of the Midwest, and even the South, is being generated by hundreds of uncontrolled wildfires in Canada, our "nice" neighbor to the north that has universal health care, an allegedly more enlightened and liberal mindset—and some of the dirtiest oil on Earth. While these fires may have been sparked by lightning, they are anything but natural. Increasing heat The New York skyline is seen in the background as a man jogs through the Liberty State Park, in New Jersey, sucking down smoke from Canadian wildfires that blanketed the city on June 8, in New Jersey. Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images In some sense, believers have been waiting for climate change for at least 40 years, when the concept first entered our minds and the world started to become aware. While we've been waiting for an ice age or a tsunami or air that can't be breathed—for climate change to catch up with the movies, it was happening all around us. The ice caps are melting, sea levels are rising, sure, but we can still take our...

A host of countries have recently announced major commitments to significantly cut their carbon emissions, promising to reach "net zero" in the coming years. The term is becoming a global rallying cry, frequently cited as a necessary step to successfully beat back climate change, and the devastation it is causing. What is net zero and why is it important? Put simply, net zero means we are not adding new emissions to the atmosphere. Emissions will continue, but will be balanced by absorbing an equivalent amount from the atmosphere. Practically every country has joined the This is why a growing number of countries are making commitments to achieve carbon neutrality, or "net zero" emissions within the next few decades. It’s a big task, requiring ambitious actions starting right now. Net zero by 2050 is the goal. But countries also need to demonstrate how they will get there. Efforts to reach net-zero must be complemented with adaptation and resilience measures, and the mobilization of climate financing for developing countries. Clean energy, like wind power, is a key element in reaching net zero emissions. is wind farm in Montenegro. So how can the world move toward net zero? The good news is that the technology exists to reach net zero – and it is affordable. A key element is powering economies with clean energy, replacing polluting coal - and gas and oil-fired power stations - with renewable energy sources, such as wind or solar farms. This would dramatically reduce carbon ...