Economist Podcasts Degrees of risk: COP27 and the 1.5C myth
Nov 7, 2022
Kathleen Bragg, Environment editor for The Economist, brings her insights on the flaws of the 1.5C climate target as COP27 unfolds. Meanwhile, Hamza Jelani, Foreign affairs writer, discusses the troubling decline of global rule of law, while noting surprising improvements in nations close to Russia. The conversation highlights the urgent need for adaptation in climate strategies and how authoritarianism affects citizens’ rights. They also touch on the psychology behind the teams everyone loves to hate in the sports world.
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1.5°C Target Unrealistic
- The 1.5°C warming target is essentially unattainable now, making it a difficult truth to admit publicly.
- Overshooting this target will cause worse climate impacts, affecting vulnerable nations the most.
Consequences of Overshooting 1.5°C
- Overshooting 1.5°C will cause more extreme weather events and rising sea levels, impacting agriculture and livelihoods.
- A 2°C world exposes 420 million more people to extreme heat yearly than a 1.5°C world.
Focus on Every Fraction of a Degree
- Shift focus from the fixed 1.5°C target to minimizing every fraction of a degree increase.
- This includes accelerating mitigation and exploring negative emissions technologies like solar geoengineering.