The fear of nuclear war forced nations to come together to stop the spread of atomic weapons. As the world confronts the reality of climate change, could a similar idea curb the use of fossil fuels?

Could we agree to stop using fossil fuels like we did nukes?

In 1958, at the height of the Cold War, Ireland's minister for external affairs Frank Aiken gave a powerful speech at the UN General Assembly in New York. He asked the question: "How can the course of history be turned away from death and towards life?" 

Aiken told world leaders that he believed the "growing destructiveness of modern weapons", particularly nuclear ones, demanded a legal solution and called for global negotiations to prevent their spread.