The Dartington Declaration, coordinated by the University of Exeter and WWF UK, comes on the heels of the 2025 Global Tipping Points Report, which concluded that Earth has already crossed its first catastrophic climate threshold with the widespread collapse of coral reefs.

So far, 583 scientists and over 570 PhD-level experts have backed the declaration — a rare show of unity across disciplines.

A stark message: "The planet's future hangs in the balance"

The declaration delivers a clear ultimatum: global greenhouse gas emissions must be cut by half by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050 if humanity is to avoid plunging into what scientists call the "danger zone".

"If we wait, it will be too late," the statement reads. "Policy and civil society must pull together to prevent further damaging tipping points and to seize the opportunities of positive tipping points."

Scientists warn that continued delay will lock the planet into self-reinforcing climate shifts — from the loss of ice sheets to the collapse of major rainforests — with consequences that can no longer be stopped once triggered.

Fossil fuels at the heart of the crisis

The declaration makes clear that such emissions cuts are impossible without a rapid and sustained move away from fossil fuels.

Fossil fuels account for 68% of global greenhouse gas emissions and almost 90% of all CO₂ output, according to the UN.

Yet progress has been slow. The final deal at last month's COP30 summit sidestepped plans for a fossil fuel phaseout roadmap, despite intensifying calls from scientists, vulnerable nations and civil society. Some countries have since pushed discussions outside the COP process in an attempt to regain momentum.

Protecting carbon sinks before they become carbon sources

Beyond emissions cuts, scientists emphasise the urgent need to protect and restore natural carbon sinks — ecosystems that absorb CO₂ from the atmosphere.

But many of these systems are now at risk of switching from sinks to sources:

• Parts of the Amazon rainforest are releasing more carbon than they absorb.

• Forests across Africa and Southeast Asia have been heavily degraded.

• Soils, which hold more carbon in the top metre than all vegetation and the atmosphere combined, are being eroded at rates that could release 4.8 billion tonnes of CO₂ annually — similar to the United States' yearly emissions.

Triggering the ‘positive tipping points' we need

The declaration calls on world leaders to accelerate shifts that can rapidly scale low-carbon technologies — what researchers describe as "positive tipping points".

The rapid collapse in solar energy costs and the explosive expansion of battery storage are often cited as examples of how fast clean technologies can take off once a threshold is crossed.

Scientists argue that by driving similar shifts across transport, agriculture, energy efficiency and urban planning, governments can still steer the planet back under the 1.5°C limit — even if the world temporarily overshoots it.