New Scientist Podcasts
Weekly: Climate overshoot - when we go past 1.5 degrees there is no going back
Episode guests
Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
- Overshooting the 1.5 degrees Celsius warming target could lead to irreversible changes and immense CO2 removal challenges for future recovery efforts.
- The discovery of ancient bacteria in 2-billion-year-old rocks provides exciting insights into extreme life and potential astrobiological implications for Mars exploration.
Deep dives
The Risks of Climate Change Overshoot
A recent study challenges the assumption that humanity can recover from surpassing the 1.5 degrees Celsius warming target by simply eliminating carbon dioxide from the atmosphere afterward. The research indicates that there is no certainty that stopping CO2 emissions will halt warming due to potential positive feedback loops, such as melting glaciers. Furthermore, if we overshoot the target, the amount of CO2 removal required to cool the planet would be astronomically high, potentially over 220 gigatons for a mere 0.1-degree overshoot, equivalent to five years of current emissions. Moreover, even if we successfully reduce CO2 levels, the prolonged time required for cooling means adaptation to higher temperatures must occur in the interim, and many irreversible changes, such as species extinction and increased extreme weather, would still be in play.
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