CSIRO: Holding Warming To 2C "Aspirational" At Best; China's Carbon Output Up 1.5% Last Year
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Given China's emissions are roughly double the next largest polluter - the US - and triple the European Union's, its acceleration means there is a fast-diminishing chance that the rise in global average temperatures can be restricted to the range of 1.5 to 2 degrees, as agreed at the 2015 Paris climate conference.
"Most climate scientists think 2 degrees [compared with pre-industrial levels] to be aspirational," said Andy Pitman, director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes.
Even if emissions ceased globally, it is probable warming would still reach at least 1.5 degrees given the longevity of carbon-dioxide and other heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere, he said.
With increasing evidence of extreme weather events even at the roughly 1 degree of warming so far - including compounding risks of bushfires, heatwaves and droughts - societies can expect impacts to worsen, Professor Pitman said: "The notion that 1.5 degrees is somehow safe is totally incompatible with the evidence."
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https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/limiting-global-warming-to-2-degrees-now-aspirational-scientists-20180604-p4zjeb.html
