Adam Tooze: Should the World Adjust Its Climate Targets?
Global warming is on pace to pass 1.5 degrees Celsius. Should policymakers be focused on adaptation?
The world unanimously pledged in the 2015 Paris Agreement to do what was necessary to keep global warming from exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, released last week, has now thrown that target into doubt. “Projected [carbon dioxide] emissions from existing fossil fuel infrastructure without additional abatement would exceed the remaining carbon budget for 1.5°C (50%) (high confidence),” the report summary reads. In other words: Even if the world stops building new fossil fuel projects, it is still on pace to break the 1.5-degree barrier—with all the catastrophic consequences that entails.
Cameron Abadi is a deputy editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @CameronAbadi
More from Foreign Policy

Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak
Authorities are covering up the spread of antibiotic-resistant pneumonia.

Henry Kissinger, Colossus on the World Stage
The late statesman was a master of realpolitik—whom some regarded as a war criminal.

The West’s False Choice in Ukraine
The crossroads is not between war and compromise, but between victory and defeat.

The Masterminds
Washington wants to get tough on China, and the leaders of the House China Committee are in the driver’s seat.
Join the Conversation
Commenting on this and other recent articles is just one benefit of a Foreign Policy subscription.
Already a subscriber?
.Subscribe Subscribe
View Comments
Join the Conversation
Join the conversation on this and other recent Foreign Policy articles when you subscribe now.
Subscribe Subscribe
Not your account?
View Comments
Join the Conversation
Please follow our comment guidelines, stay on topic, and be civil, courteous, and respectful of others’ beliefs.