A new scenario logic for the Paris Agreement long-term temperature goal

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Rogelj, J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2056-9061, Huppmann, D. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7729-7389, Krey, V. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0307-3515, Riahi, K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7193-3498, Clarke, L., Gidden, M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0687-414X, Nicholls, Z., & Meinshausen, Malte (2019). A new scenario logic for the Paris Agreement long-term temperature goal. Nature 573 (7774) 357-363. 10.1038/s41586-019-1541-4.

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Abstract

To understand how global warming can be kept well below 2 degrees Celsius and even 1.5 degrees Celsius, climate policy uses scenarios that describe how society could reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. However, current scenarios have a key weakness: they typically focus on reaching specific climate goals in 2100. This choice may encourage risky pathways that delay action, reach higher-than-acceptable mid-century warming, and rely on net removal of carbon dioxide thereafter to undo their initial shortfall in reductions of emissions. Here we draw on insights from physical science to propose a scenario framework that focuses on capping global warming at a specific maximum level with either temperature stabilization or reversal thereafter. The ambition of climate action until carbon neutrality determines peak warming, and can be followed by a variety of long-term states with different sustainability implications. The approach proposed here closely mirrors the intentions of the United Nations Paris Agreement, and makes questions of intergenerational equity into explicit design choices.

Item Type: Article
Research Programs: Energy (ENE)
Related URLs:
Depositing User: Luke Kirwan
Date Deposited: 19 Sep 2019 08:54
Last Modified: 27 Aug 2021 17:32
URI: https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/16075

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