GHG Daily
1/26/16
Internationally, the rate at which the planet’s fossil fuel reserves are being harvested is not in line with global goals to limit temperature rise, according to a report issued Monday by green groups the Sierra Club, 350.org, and Greenpeace. “To reach a four-in-five chance of preventing catastrophe, we have approximately 565 Gt CO2 left in our carbon budget until 2050. To limit warming to 1.5?C or below—an ambitious goal stated in the Paris Agreement—emissions would need to be limited in accordance with an even stricter budget,” the report says.
Current estimates of known global fossil fuel reserves range from 2,795 to 2,900 gigatons of CO2. “This means that if the world’s proven reserves are developed before 2050, we will miss even the high-end estimated budget for a 50 percent chance of limiting warming to 2?C—three times over. The calculations for the low-end estimate indicate the need for even trimmer carbon budgets, which would provide a better chance of avoiding catastrophe,” the report explains.
