Humanity is running out of time to keep Earth’s global average temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, according to a new analysis.
The Paris Agreement, adopted by 196 nations in 2015, aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to keep global warming under this level, in an attempt to avoid the worst consequences of sea level rise, ocean acidification, and ecosystem damage. But most countries’ actions have consistently fallen short of their pledges to reduce carbon emissions in the eight years since, raising persistent questions about whether the Paris Agreement’s goals can be met.
A new analysis suggests that the window is closing. If emissions continue at current rates, the remaining carbon budget to reach 1.5°C will be exhausted by 2029.
“So far, we have not been doing enough to even start meeting our commitments,” says Robin Lamboll, a research fellow in climate science and policy at Imperial College in the U.K., who led the new analysis.
Lamboll is part of the Indicators of Global Climate Change (IGCC) initiative, which aims to track climate indicators highlighted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations (UN) body that handles climate policy. In the new study,...
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