Limiting the Mean Surface Temperature

In this chapter, Emmanuel Guérin discusses what we can do to avoid these catastrophic consequences and at what level we should try to limit the increase in temperature. The adoption of the 2 degree limit was a long and complex process. It was first of all, the result of a scientific process due to the assessment report of the IPCC, which is divided into 3 groups, on climate science, the risks of climate change and how we can adapt, and the opportunities for climate change mitigation. It was also the result of the political process because many states looked for a long-term goal to climate change mitigation beginning in 1989. In 1996, the European Union Environmental Council established the 2 degree limit for the first time politically, and each new assessment from the IPCC was revised and more alarming and pessimistic. By the time of the Fourth Assessment Report, the concentration of greenhouse gas emissions had to be stabilized below 450 parts per million, even though this still poses many risks due to climate change, especially for island states. There has been international recognition of the need to strengthen the long-term global goal to perhaps 1.5 degrees Celsius. Although 2 degrees is now the established target, the impacts attached to that target have changed, and emissions continue to increase. This video is part of the module The 2-Degree Limit.

This video is licensed under the CC BY-NC-SA license.