
The best case scenario for Earth would be a global temperature increase of two degrees Celsius
STATES CHRONICLE – Researchers from the University of Washington made a worrying discovery regarding climate change. They say global temperatures will be rising by over two degrees Celsius this century. This will lead to the surpassing of a critical point which climate change advocates are currently trying to avoid.
Small chances to achieve a temperature increase smaller than two degrees Celsius
In a recent study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, researchers discovered a 90 percent chance that temperatures all over the world would reach an increase going from two degrees Celsius up to 4.9 degrees Celsius.
At the climate deal set by officials in Paris in 2015, they decided to limit the greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible, and prevent further warming of the planet. Also, they set a goal, namely that global warming shouldn’t exceed two degrees Celsius. However, there’s only a 5 percent chance that temperatures should stay within this limit.
Such a big increase can have huge consequences
If we don’t manage to respect this goal and reduce temperature increase in the upcoming century, we will have to suffer terrible consequences. Among the events which threaten to occur, there is the increase of the sea level or extended periods of droughts.
To determine how temperatures are going to rise, scientists took into account the world population, the GDP, and how much carbon gets emitted per each dollar earned in the economy. They discovered how the two degrees Celsius increased is the best thing that could happen. However, this is attainable only with great sustained efforts for the next eight decades.
The UN Environment Program states greenhouse gas emissions have reached 54 billion tons per year. To reach the two degrees goal, we need to drop them down to at least 42 billion tons by year 2030. There is quite a lot of work to do, but there are some methods which can help us achieve the long-desired goal.
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