The amount of baked-in global warming, from carbon pollution already in the air, is enough to blow past international agreed upon goals to limit climate change, a new study finds. But it’s...

For decades, scientists have talked about so-called “committed warming” or the increase in future temperature based on past carbon dioxide emissions that stay in the atmosphere for well over a century. It’s like the distance a speeding car travels after the brakes are applied.

But Monday’s study in the journal Nature Climate Change calculates that a bit differently and now figures the carbon pollution already put in the air will push global temperatures to about 2.3 degrees Celsius (4.1 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming since pre-industrial times.

Previous estimates, including those accepted by international science panels, were about a degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) less than that amount of committed warming.

But it’s not game over because, while that amount of warming may be inevitable, it can be delayed for centuries if the world quickly stops emitting extra greenhouse gases from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas, the study’s authors say.

  • DragonNest_Aidit [they/them,use name]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Lib expert talking about climate change be like

    • Climate change could be a possible problem in the future

    • Climate change might become a possibility

    • We can prevent climate change by littering less

    • We can stop climate change by conservation

    • We can delay climate change by saving energy

    • We can mitigate climate change by reducing carbon output <--- you are here

    • We can handle climate catastrophe by blocking off refugees

    • We can ride through climate collapse by destroying lesser countries and ransacking their resources

    • We can survive biosphere death by culling the undesirables off our population

    • We can go to space leaving behind the slaves we used to build our arkships