Net negative emissions should be our real target
Net zero by 2050 will be not nearly good enough to stop climate catastrophe, according to more and more experts.
Here are some words of one expert, Colin Summerhays of the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, UK:
"The real problem with the concept of net zero is that by taking as much carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere as we put in, we maintain the amount of this greenhouse gas present when net zero takes effect. Hence the CO2 level, while not increasing, remains high. That means continued warming, ice melt and sea level rise.
During the last interglacial, 125,000 years ago, seal level rose due to natural warming. Over 2,000 years, by certain estimates, it rose perhaps about 15 meters above present levels. By retaining high amounts of CO2 in the air, we are headed for the same.
To counter this, we must go for negative emissions, to bring down the level of CO2 in the air. And we must do that soon, to stop CO2 levels rising to the point we might expect in 2050. We have run out of time and must act now.
Yes, there will be a high cost, but there will be an even higher one for remedying the situation we will find ourselves in as seal level rise reaches and passes the one metre mark (above 1990 levels) on its way to higher rises. "
On this basis, perhaps we should be doing all things we would be doing to achieve net zero by 2050, PLUS plant a trillion or so trees during this period. Or another figure, but let us say, re-wild about 10% of the planet that has been deforested by humans already, plus maybe throw in some massive sea grass projects. That way we might achieve what needs to be achieved for future generations of our species and others to continue to thrive on this planet.
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