Climate Questions: What are the solutions to climate change?

As the world warms and extreme weather events mount, governments and corporations have been called on to address climate change by top officials, climate scientists and activists and to curb levels of heating.

The planet's temperature has already risen by about 1.1 degrees Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit) and the effects will only get worse with every additional tenth of a degree of warming, scientists warn.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is part of an ongoing series answering some of the most fundamental questions around climate change, the science behind it, the effects of a warming planet and how the world is addressing it.

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Scientists and officials agree that it's important to not make matters worse by burning even more fossil fuels — coal, oil and natural gas — that emit heat-trapping gases into the air. In a 2021 report, the International Energy Agency said there can be no new investments in fossil fuels if the world wants to reach its climate goals. The most recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change said “immediate and deep" cuts to dirty fuels were needed.

“Our addiction to fossil fuels is pushing humanity to the brink," said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the 2021 climate conference in Glasgow, known as COP26.

The world is currently reliant on fossil fuels for much of its electricity, heating and transportation, as well as agriculture and industry. It's hoped that cleaner alternatives — such as solar and wind energy — will replace much of that demand. As costs of renewables plummet, more and more energy is being produced in sustainable ways, although the total amount of energy produced globally has also gone up.

“There’s been quite a rapid uptake of renewables, but emissions are continuing to rise,” said Elizabeth Robinson,...