A pressing question from the recently concluded 29th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference in Azerbaijan is how to transition away from fossil fuels and speed up climate mitigation in line with the 1.5 °C global warming target.
Keeping global average temperatures below 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels is crucial to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change, including extreme weather, rising seas, biodiversity loss, and disruptions to food and water security.
According to a new study by researchers from Stockholm University, Chalmers University of Technology, and Uppsala University in Sweden, it is still possible to limit global warming to 1.5 °C. But the study found that the United States, the European Union, and 16 other countries will have to exceed their own current targets in order to achieve this global goal.
The study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Communications, introduced an “additional carbon accountability” indicator, which quantifies countries’ responsibility for mitigation and carbon dioxide removal in addition to achieving their own targets.
The study identified 18 countries that should be accountable for increasing their ambitions to stay within their equal per capita share of the global carbon budget for 1.5 °C. Additional carbon accountability is highest for the United States and China, and highest per capita for the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the U.S.
Failure to limit global warming risks catastrophic impacts of climate change.
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Photo, posted December 27, 2015, courtesy of Gerry Machen via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio