Researchers warn: Only six years left to cut emissions

When the Paris Agreement was struck almost ten years ago, world leaders agreed to keep global warming below 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels and to limit warming to 1.5 degrees. It is meant to reduce the effects of climate change.

A new study, published in the journal Natural climate change, It says the window to meet the 1.5 degree target is shrinking. Robin Lambol is a researcher at Imperial College London in the UK and one of the lead authors of the study:

– Robin Lambol told a press conference that we estimate that current emissions can only be released for about six years before crossing this critical reference point for the Paris Agreement.

The net amount of carbon dioxide that can be emitted without exceeding a certain warming threshold is commonly called the residual carbon budget. Calculating this is subject to uncertainties, but according to a new study, countries around the world have less time to cut emissions than expected.

At the same time, the research team insists that their results are in line with the reports of the UN Climate Panel IPCC and that the new calculations have been carried out by the same people. So the researchers describe the new results as an update.

According to the authors, there are mainly two explanations for the reduction in the emission window.

– On the one hand, carbon dioxide emissions continue, and on the other hand we have an improved understanding of atmospheric physics, says Robin Lambol.

Among other things, the research team revised statistics on how aerosol particles affect global warming. Robin Lambol said he hoped world governments would take the study to heart and do what they could to reduce emissions quickly.