The President’s Inbox Climate Change Realism on Earth Day 2025, With Varun Sivaram
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Apr 22, 2025 AI Snips
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Climate Targets Are Unrealistic
- The world is on track to exceed climate goals set in the 2015 Paris Agreement, heading toward at least 3°C warming.
- This trajectory suggests catastrophic environmental impacts globally and locally, defying optimistic targets like 1.5° or 2° Celsius limits.
Impacts of 3°C Warming
- A 3°C global average temperature rise means much higher impacts closer to the poles and extreme weather events elsewhere.
- It brings heatwaves, droughts, intense storms, and fundamental disruptions to society's normal functions.
Why Progress on Climate Lags
- Humans value their own and their descendants' future welfare insufficiently, explaining weak climate action.
- Climate change is a collective action problem; individual countries prioritize self-interest, worsening emissions.