Researchers say that unless fossil fuels are kept in the ground, global temperatures could rise more than 11 degrees Fahrenheit by 2300.

Katarzyna Tokarska, a climate scientist at the University of Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia, who led the study said “Our key finding is that if we continue to burn our remaining fossil fuel resources, the Earth will encounter a profound degree of global warming, of 6.4 to 9.5 degrees Celsius [about 11 to 17 degrees Fahrenheit] over 20th-century averages by 2300.”

This study shows the Arctic’s mean temperature could rise about 27 to 36 degrees Fahrenheit over the next century if our trends continue.

Tokarska also said the research, which was published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change, represents “the worst-case scenario.

The results suggest that it would be better to do something now,” she said, “and now is the time to do it.”