The benefits of limiting global warming even just to 2°C (3.6°F) above preindustrial levels far outstrip the costs, according to a new Deloitte report. But action must include more than simply cutting CO2 pollution. Measures to slash more potent, shorter-lived greenhouse pollutants, including methane, HFCs, black carbon soot, and others, are also needed to hold warming below the 2°C threshold, a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concludes. Even at 2°C, the amount of disruption and destruction caused by climate change will still be catastrophic.
“We’re simultaneously in two races to avert climate catastrophe,” said Gabrielle Dreyfus, chief scientist for the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development and lead author of the study. “We have to win the sprint to slow warming in the near term by tackling the short-lived climate pollutants, so that we can stay in the race to win the marathon against CO2.” (Deloitte: Axios; Short term pollutants: Inside Climate News, Reuters, The Guardian)