Guest blog: Time for a reality check: the Paris Agreement won’t prevent dangerous climate change—we need a Plan B
Guest blog by Graeme Taylor and Sue Vink Why the Paris climate targets will be missed While no one likes to cast doubt on the 2015 Paris Agreement—it’s like saying that the Emperor has no clothes—the grim reality is that its targets will not be met. Moreover, even if the world achieves zero net emissions, existing greenhouse gases will push global temperatures past safe levels. Despite the international treaty, greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) have risen every year. On the current trajectory, by 2100 average global temperatures are likely to increase above preindustrial levels by a catastrophic 3°C - 4°C. Even if the latest national pledges are fully implemented, temperatures will increase by a devastating 2.4°C (Climate Action Tracker 2021). To achieve the Paris goals three extremely ambitious targets must be met (Rockstrรถm et al. 2017): Global CO 2 emissions should decline by 50% per decade. Net emissions from agriculture and deforestation must be cut to zero by 2050 (a...