“Not reachable at all”
Climate researcher calls for abandonment of the 1.5 degree target
November 25, 2023, 6:05 a.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
The plan to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees by the end of the century is completely unrealistic, says well-known climate researcher Mojib Latif. It would even be counterproductive to formally insist on it.
Shortly before the start of the COP28 climate conference in Dubai, climate researcher Mojib Latif is calling for a departure from the previous 1.5 degree target to limit global warming. “The 1.5 degrees cannot be achieved at all,” said the professor at the Kiel Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research to the “Augsburger Allgemeine”. He even considers the goal to be counterproductive. “Some people panic and think the world will end if the 1.5 degrees are not met,” he explained.
In Germany, the value has long been exceeded; globally, global warming will be 1.2 degrees higher this year compared to pre-industrial times. The 1.5 degree target was already unrealistic in 2015 when it was included in the Paris Climate Agreement. At that time it was agreed to limit the man-made temperature increase to 1.5 degrees by the year 2100, compared to the period before industrialization. At the same time, Latif warned of the drastic consequences of warming, such as heavy rain and temperature extremes. “Extreme weather events will increase, that’s as certain as Amen in church.”
Meanwhile, economist Ottmar Edenhofer suggests rethinking the current practice of international climate protection financing. “I am calling for conditions to be tied to climate funds to states in the future,” said the director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) to “Welt am Sonntag”. The current incentive structure does not work. Transfer payments to the global south are important as a signal. “The problem with climate financing is that these amounts have so far been spent on projects without any conditions,” criticized Edenhofer. “They should be linked to the existence of a CO2 price and its level in the recipient country.”
The background is that poorer states in industrialized countries should receive at least 9.322 billion US dollars (8.5 billion euros) for the fight against climate change and coping with the effects from 2024 to 2027.
The United Nations World Climate Conference will begin next Thursday with a meeting of heads of state and ministers in Dubai.