http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150327091016.htm
Date:
March 27, 2015
Source:
BioMed Central
Summary:
The official global target of a two degree Celsius temperature rise is ‘utterly inadequate’ for protecting those at most risk from climate change, says an expert. The commentary presents a rare inside-view of a discussion at the Lima Conference of the Parties on the likely consequences of accepting an average global warming target of 2 degrees Celsius versus 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The 2°C target has been said to carry an increased risk of sea level rise, shifting rainfall patters and extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, and heat waves.
Credit: © meryll / Fotolia
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The official global target of a 2°C temperature rise is ‘utterly inadequate’ for protecting those at most risk from climate change, says a lead author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), writing a commentary in the open access journal Climate Change Responses.
The commentary presents a rare inside-view of a two-day discussion at the Lima Conference of the Parties (COP) on the likely consequences of accepting an average global warming target of 2°C versus 1.5°C (measured from pre-industrial times until 2100).
The discussions were part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ‘structured expert dialogue’ in December 2014. They reveal unevenly distributed risks and political power differentials between high-income countries insisting on a 2°C target and low- and many middle-income countries pushing for 1.5°C or lower.
The 2°C target has been said to carry an increased risk of sea level rise, shifting rainfall patters and extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, and heat waves, particularly targeting the Polar Regions, high mountain areas, and the Tropics.
…(read more).
Petra Tschakert. 1.5°C or 2°C: a conduit’s view from the science-policy interface at COP20 in Lima, Peru. Climate Change Responses, 2015; 2 (1) DOI: 10.1186/s40665-015-0010-z
Global Climate Change
Environment Ethics
Environment Justice
