7 November 2023
By Minseo Kim
Not letting global temperatures rise more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial times is the goal set through the Paris Climate Conference (COP21) to prevent the climate crisis in 2015. However, research shows that the rate of global warming is much faster than expected, contrary to this goal.
In a recent paper published by Hansen, it is predicted that the global temperature will break this goal within the next six years. Hansen stated that there is a great deal of global warming "in the pipeline" as a result of the continued use of fossil fuels and that the Earth is "very sensitive" to the effects of this. He stressed that the current rate of temperature increase is even more dangerous when the balance of the climate system has already been broken, adding that we should make efforts to cool the earth by reversing this pattern.
In addition, researchers from Imperial College London (ICL) also said that the temperature rise could be over 1.5°C compared to pre-industrialism in 2029, not the mid-2030s. Dr. Robin Lamball of ICL, who led the study, lamented that when current CO2 emissions remain constant, the goal of reducing the rise by 1.5 degrees will be less likely to be met. Carbon emissions in 2030 should be reduced by 43% compared to 2019, but the actual reduction rate is expected to be only 3.6% as of last September, according to the United Nations.