If a major economy takes the lead, warming could be limited to 2°C

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-10/pifc-iam102315.php

Public Release: 26-Oct-2015
If a major economy takes the lead, warming could be limited to 2°C
Allocating greenhouse-gas emissions reductions will be key for the outcome of the world climate summit COP21 in Paris
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)

Though most countries around the globe agree that warming must be limited to 2 degrees Celsius to avoid the raft of climate risks, they clash about who should do what to reach this target. Hence the issue of allocating greenhouse-gas emissions reductions will be key for the outcome of the world climate summit COP21 in Paris. Scientists now found what amount of emissions reductions it takes for a major economy to lead out of the climate gridlock. They conclude that effectively limiting climate change is possible if a major economy acts as a forerunner, while other nations follow and, importantly, by doing so they do not have to agree on common criteria for fairness.

"If either the European Union or the US would pioneer and set a benchmark for climate action by others, the negotiation logjam about fair burden sharing could be broken," lead author Malte Meinshausen from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and the University of Melbourne says. "Our analysis shows that they would have to roughly double their current domestic 2030 emissions reductions targets, which would certainly require substantial efforts. Yet it seems to be one of the few options to stay on track for eventually limiting warming below 2°C and fend off a drastic increase of weather extremes and sea-level rise."

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