Earth Equity News

Carbon Targets Too Low to Do the Job, Experts Warn. By David Adam, London Guardian, September 15, 2008. "Scientists may have to turn back time and clean the atmosphere of all man-made CO2 to prevent the worst impacts of global warming, one of Europe's most senior climate scientists has warned. Professor John Schellnhuber, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany [said] that only a return to pre-industrial levels of CO2 would be enough… that current political [emissions] targets… were insufficient, and that ways may have to be found to actively remove CO2 from the air… Schellnhuber's warning comes as climate experts say… trends show the world is unlikely to stabilise [CO2] below 650ppm, which could see a 4C rise. Alice Bows and Kevin Anderson, of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of Manchester, say carbon pollution is rising faster than officially admitted [and]… would need to peak by 2015 and then decrease by up to 6.5% each year… to stabilise at 450ppm. Even a goal of 650ppm -- way above most government projections -- would need world emissions to peak in 2020 and then reduce 3% each year. They say this year's G8 pledge to cut global emissions 50% by 2050, in an effort to limit global warming to 2C, has no scientific basis and could lead to 'dangerously misguided' policies."