The Dalai Lama and 100 other Nobel laureates have called on world leaders to stop the expansion of oil, gas and coal, urging them to act now to avoid “a climate catastrophe”.

Their open letter, published a day before President Joe Biden hosted a virtual climate summit, described fossil fuel combustion as “by far the biggest contributor to climate change.”

The document, which was coordinated by the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, then refers to the importance of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 2015 Paris Agreement. The deal aims to limit global warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius and, ideally, restrict any increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius, from pre-industrial levels.

Wednesday’s letter says failure to meet the 1.5-degree target could “push the world toward catastrophic global warming.” He also adds that the Paris Agreement makes no mention of oil, gas or coal.

Citing a report from the United Nations Environment Program, the letter highlights the enormous work required to ensure the targets are met, stating that “120% more coal, oil and gas will be produced by 2030 that which is compatible with the limitation of reheating to 1.5. ° C. “

Allowing the continued expansion of the fossil fuel industry “is unacceptable,” he concludes. “The fossil fuel system is global and requires a global solution – a solution that the Climate Leaders’ Summit must work towards. And the first step is to keep fossil fuels in the ground.”

Along with the Dalai Lama, the letter’s signatories include Jody Williams, the founding coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines; economist Christopher Pissarides; Shirin Ebadi, the first female judge in Iran; and former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.

Other names include Liberian peace activist and women’s rights advocate, Leymah Gbowee, and Wole Soyinka, the Nigerian playwright, novelist and poet.

The letter represents the latest intervention by leading figures in the debate on climate change and the environment.

Earlier this month, Britain’s Prince William stressed the importance of investing in nature to fight climate change and protect our planet.

In comments made during a discussion at the virtual spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group, the Duke of Cambridge spoke of what he described as “the intrinsic connection between nature and the world. climate change”.

“We must invest in nature through reforestation, sustainable agriculture and the support of healthy oceans, as this is one of the most cost-effective and efficient ways to fight climate change,” he said. he adds.