Uploaded July 2019 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The more CO2 we emit from burning coal and oil and gas, the more we heat our climate – this sounds simple, and it is. Different analyses have come up with different estimates of how much CO2 humankind can still emit if we want to hold global warming to the internationally agreed 1.5 and well below 2 degrees Celsius limits, but a lack of clarity of the reasons causing these variations has created unnecessary confusion, a new study shows. It identifies the relevant factors that affect estimates of these remaining carbon budgets and thereby untangles the differences to make estimates more easily comparable, which will help decision-makers in using them. From a climate policy perspective, the bottom line remains the same. Even if the remaining carbon budget for limiting warming to 1.5°C would increase by a half, we would have only 10 years more time before emissions have to be brought down to net zero.
For more info see here:
pik-potsdam.de/news/press-releases/what-counts-for-our-climate-carbon-budgets-untangled
Article: Joeri Rogelj, Piers M. Forster, Elmar Kriegler, Christopher J. Smith, Roland Séférian (2019): Estimating and tracking the remaining carbon budget for stringent climate targets. Nature [DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1368-z]
Weblink to the article: doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1368-z
The more CO2 we emit from burning coal and oil and gas, the more we heat our climate – this sounds simple, and it is. Different analyses have come up with different estimates of how much CO2 humankind can still emit if we want to hold global warming to the internationally agreed 1.5 and well below 2 degrees Celsius limits, but a lack of clarity of the reasons causing these variations has created unnecessary confusion, a new study shows. It identifies the relevant factors that affect estimates of these remaining carbon budgets and thereby untangles the differences to make estimates more easily comparable, which will help decision-makers in using them. From a climate policy perspective, the bottom line remains the same. Even if the remaining carbon budget for limiting warming to 1.5°C would increase by a half, we would have only 10 years more time before emissions have to be brought down to net zero.
For more info see here:
pik-potsdam.de/news/press-releases/what-counts-for-our-climate-carbon-budgets-untangled
Article: Joeri Rogelj, Piers M. Forster, Elmar Kriegler, Christopher J. Smith, Roland Séférian (2019): Estimating and tracking the remaining carbon budget for stringent climate targets. Nature [DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1368-z]
Weblink to the article: doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1368-z
