1 November, 2011

Science aspects of the 2°C and 1.5°C global goals in the Cancun Agreements

Authors

Bill Hare, Michiel Schaeffer, Marcia Rocha

In the international climate negotiations, long-term global targets can serve as a guideline for policy decisions on mitigation. However, under any long-term global target, the impacts of climate change are not equally distributed over countries. The evaluation of a global target for limiting global warming needs to take into account this heterogeneity and the interests of countries that take the bigger share of impacts.

This paper reviews the scientific literature on impacts for 1.5 and 2°C warming levels with focus on risks for Least Developed Countries. We summarise observed impacts in LDCs that have been related to global mean temperature and provide an overview of projected future changes.

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Decarbonisation targets and 1.5℃ pathways

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