Matthews, HD, Tokarska, KB, Nicholls, ZRJ et al. (16 more authors) (2020) Opportunities and challenges in using remaining carbon budgets to guide climate policy. Nature Geoscience, 13 (12). pp. 769-779. ISSN 1752-0894
Abstract
The remaining carbon budget represents the total amount of CO2 that can still be emitted in the future while limiting global warming to a given temperature target. Remaining carbon budget estimates range widely, however, and this uncertainty can be used to either trivialize the most ambitious mitigation targets by characterizing them as impossible, or to argue that there is ample time to allow for a gradual transition to a low-carbon economy. Neither of these extremes is consistent with our best understanding of the policy implications of remaining carbon budgets. Understanding the scientific and socio-economic uncertainties affecting the size of the remaining carbon budgets, as well as the methodological choices and assumptions that underlie their calculation, is essential before applying them as a policy tool. Here we provide recommendations on how to calculate remaining carbon budgets in a traceable and transparent way, and discuss their uncertainties and implications for both international and national climate policies.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Springer Nature Limited 2020. This is an author produced version of a article published in Nature Geoscience. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Inst for Climate & Atmos Science (ICAS) (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number EU - European Union 820829 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 07 Dec 2020 10:05 |
Last Modified: | 30 May 2021 00:40 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Nature Research |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/s41561-020-00663-3 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:168704 |