The world still isn't close to preventing what leaders call a dangerous level of man-made warming, a new United Nations report says. That's despite some nations' recent pledges to cut back on carbon dioxide emissions.
"The time window (for reaching that goal) is closing, closing," said United Nations undersecretary for environment Achim Steiner. And the cost of getting to that goal "is increasing, increasing."
To meet that goal, the world has to hit a peak of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases before 2030, said the report's chief scientific editor, Joseph Alcamo. But the study says carbon emissions will continue to soar until 2050 and by then it will be too late.
If the U.S. and China follow through with their promises, they may shave a few billions of tons off the total, said former U.S. Sen. Tim Wirth, vice chairman of the United Nations Foundation. Those pledges and an earlier one by Europe, while narrowing the gap, aren't large enough to close it, Alcamo said.
In his forward to the report, Steiner wrote that the "analysis reveals a worrisome worsening trend. Continued emissions of greenhouse gases will lead to an even warmer climate and exacerbate the devastating effect of climate change."
Outside scientists praised the numbers in the study, but Granger Morgan at Carnegie Mellon University raised a question that scientists have been debating more frequently: Is it time to abandon the two-degree goal as unrealistic?
"Today a two-degree target is akin to a 60-year-old man who resolves to be 25 years old next year," Morgan said in an email. "It ain't gonna happen, but it's time to get really serious about achieving what we can."
Steiner said because of the dangers of a warmer world, it is unthinkable to abandon the two-degree goal.
4 comments:
Formatting problem?
Here in my part of the country, a mere 100 kilometres from where I reside, Buffalo is dealing (or not) with the worst snowfall it has ever experienced, having received a year's worth in just four days. Sadly, Mound, it is likely that the political braintrusts and their cheerleaders responsible for our fates will take that to mean global warming is a myth. There is little reason for hope left.
Justin and Tommy still haven't figured out that that they have to slay the dragon before they can do anything else. Instead, they spend an awful lot of energy scrapping with each other.
Civilizations have destroyed themselves in the past. Have we any reason to believe that we are immune from the same fate?
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