With that message, the scientists deviate from the IPCC, the international panel of climate scientists. That outlined in an April climate change report that 1.5 degrees will be out of reach if an “immediate and far-reaching” reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is not forthcoming.
In contrast to Scientist Rebellion, the panel of climate experts still see opportunities for this. If global emissions peak before 2025 and nearly halve by 2030, it could still work, according to the IPCC.
The scientists who now express their skepticism about the feasibility refer to the same calculations. They conclude that it is “inevitable” that the earth will warm to above 1.5 degrees and believe that administrators and other scientists should also say this out loud. Saying 1.5 degrees is still within reach, they say, only encourages polluting industries and policymakers to resist a rapid reduction in emissions.
In the Paris Climate Agreement at the end of 2015, all countries agreed to make every effort to keep global warming as far as possible below 2 degrees and preferably below 1.5 degrees. In the final statement of the Glasgow climate summit last year, all delegations acknowledged that the impact will then be “much lower” than at 2 degrees warming compared to pre-industrialisation.
Also review: More and more melting glaciers, but why is that?