Time is running out to curb climate change: the window to avoid 1.5°C of warming will CLOSE before 2030 if emissions continue at current rates, the study warns

The chance to stop the Earth warming more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels could be lost in just six years, according to a new study.

The “carbon budget” is the maximum amount of CO2 we can emit to keep the planet within the 1.5°C temperature limit.

Scientists estimate that humanity can only emit about 250 gigatons more carbon dioxide before the Earth has a 50 percent chance of getting hotter than 1.5°C.

At current rates, this emissions will occur by 2029.

Humanity currently emits around 40 gigatons of CO2 every year, meaning that too much will be produced by 2029.

Scientists say humanity will exhaust its remaining carbon emissions budget by 2029 if current rates continue. They estimate that we can only emit about 250 gigatons more of carbon dioxide before the Earth has a 50 percent chance of getting hotter than 1.5°C

The carbon budget indicates how much CO2 can be emitted to keep global warming below 1.5 °C with a 50 percent chance

Current estimates from the IPCC, the United Nations agency that is the world’s leading authority on climate science, predict that the Earth will warm by almost 3°C ​​by 2100, with global emissions peaking in 2023 will continue to increase.

Scientists have said 3C would be catastrophic for humans and other life forms on Earth. Some even warn that exceeding the 1.5°C limit could trigger tipping points such as the melting of polar glaciers, which could cause the planet to heat up independently of human emissions.

The earth has already warmed by 1.1°C since the pre-industrial era.

Dr. Robin Lamboll, from the Center for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London and lead author of the study, said: “Our results confirm what we already know – we are not doing nearly enough to keep warming below 1.5°C.”

“The remaining budget is now so small that small changes in our understanding of the world can lead to large proportional changes to the budget.” However, estimates suggest that emissions will last less than a decade at current levels.

“The lack of progress in reducing emissions means we can be increasingly confident that the window of opportunity to keep warming at safe levels is closing quickly.”

Scientists see a global temperature rise of 1.5°C as a tipping point for the climate, which could cause the polar ice caps to melt and temperatures to continue rising even without human intervention

There has been great uncertainty in estimating how much the world can emit before the target is reached because of numerous gases that cause warming, as well as indirect effects of other pollutants such as cooling aerosols.

The study authors said they used a new data set and an improved climate model to get a more accurate estimate of the remaining budget.

Although 2023 is likely to have a global average temperature of over 1.5°C and will be the hottest year on record, this does not mean that the Paris target is dead, as meteorologists measure the average value determined over many years to a natural variability to be taken into account temperature.

Many countries have set a goal of achieving net-zero emissions by around the middle of this century, meaning the amount of emissions going into the atmosphere is equal to the amount removed by either nature or technology becomes.

Restored forests, wetlands and oceans could begin pulling more carbon from the atmosphere than they emit, cooling the Earth’s temperature, although the exact effect remains largely an educated guess.

Several factors contribute to determining the remaining carbon budget, including the target temperature, non-CO2 warming, and an amount or warming expected after net zero

Dr. Lamboll said: “At this point we expect the opposing warming and cooling to approximately cancel each other out after we reach net zero.”

“However, we will only be able to see what the longer-term heating and cooling adjustments will look like as we reduce emissions and move closer to net zero.”

“Every fraction of a degree of warming will make life more difficult for people and ecosystems.” This study is another warning from the scientific community. Now it’s up to governments to act.”

Professor Niklas Höhne, director and managing director of the New Climate Institute, Cologne, said: “The current study shows one thing above all: the 1.5 degree limit will be very, very tight.” It is almost irrelevant whether that is The budget will be used up in six years – as this study suggests – or in ten years, as previously assumed, with emissions remaining the same. Either way, it’s extremely tight. And this is not a new finding.

“But that doesn’t mean that we should give up, quite the opposite.” It turns out that every ton of carbon dioxide saved is even more important because the budget is so tight.

And even if the multi-year average temperature increase is over 1.5 degrees, it is good to have saved as many emissions as possible in advance, because every ton saved leads to a lower global temperature increase and thus to less damage.