Earth Equity News

Planned Emission Cuts Still Mean a Far Hotter Earth. By Seth Borenstein, AP, September 24, 2009. "Earth's temperature is likely to jump nearly 6 degrees between now and the end of the century even if every country cuts greenhouse gas emissions as proposed, according to a United Nations update. Scientists looked at emission plans from 192 nations and calculated what would happen to global warming. The projections take into account 80% cuts from the U.S. and Europe by 2050, which are not sure things... The world's average temperature has already risen 1.4 degrees (0.8 degrees Celsius) since the 19th century. Much of projected rise in temperature is because of developing nations, which aren't talking much about cutting their emissions, scientists said at a United Nations press conference on Sept. 24.. China alone adds nearly 2 degrees (1 degree Celsius) to the projections. 'We are headed toward very serious changes in our planet,' said Achim Steiner, head of the U.N.'s environment program, which issued the update on Thursday. Even if the developed world cuts its emissions by 80 percent and the developing world cuts theirs in half by 2050, as some experts propose, the world is still facing a 3-degree (1.7 degree Celsius) increase by the end of the century, said Robert Corell, a prominent U.S. climate scientist who helped oversee the update. Corell said the most likely agreement out of the international climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December still translates into a nearly 5 degree (2.7 degree Celsius) increase in world temperature by the end of the century. European leaders and the Obama White House have set a goal to limit warming to just a couple degrees."