Carbon BudgetThe carbon budget is the remaining quantity of carbon that can be emitted before the earth’s temperature becomes dangerous and in need of carbon removal approaches. It is a way to conceptualize the amount of greenhouse gases that are emitted and the degree to which they impact global warming. While the gases are a means of controlling the temperature on earth, when fossil fuels are burned or there is an excess of agricultural waste, too many greenhouse gasses are emitted, which has resulted in dangerous changes to the earth’s climate. The carbon budget focuses on carbon specifically because carbon emissions are almost entirely generated by humans and can therefore be reduced by humans.
Prior to 2013, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change focused on the stabilization of the climate. However, in their 2013-14 report, human-caused carbon emissions were considered the most pressing climate concern for policy makers. Carbon emissions have been exponentially on the rise since the industrial revolution. Within the last 50 years, the earth has been rapidly approaching its natural limit. Even a 1℃ increase in the earth’s temperature has already caused significant dangers to the climate.
In order to mitigate further damage, the 196 countries who committed to the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 set a carbon budget to keep the earth’s temperature below a 1.5℃ increase. These countries are nationally committed to reducing the carbon emissions, and subsequently reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. At the current pace of fossil fuel consumption, humans only have about ten years before the carbon budget will be used up.
A less conservative carbon budget is modeled on a 2℃ increase, which at the current rate would take three decades to be consumed and would leave the earth susceptible to climate disaster such as droughts, increased hurricanes, and rising sea levels. Because developed countries emit more than countries that are still developing, there may be some flexibility around the carbon that individual countries emit, but to meet the budget, developed countries especially must reduce their emissions, lest the entire world suffer the climate consequences. In an ideal world, emitting zero carbon is the ultimate goal.
©2024 ClimateLit (Jalen Giles)
Related terms: Carbon Emissions, Carbon Offsets, Greenhouse Gases, Global Warming, Sustainability
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