Emissions curbs could cut climate impacts by up to two-thirds - new report

Fri 01 February 2013 View all news

The adverse impacts of climate change could be reduced by 20 to 65 per cent if greenhouse gas emissions are reduced more sharply says a new report published in Nature. Meanwhile, recent calculations by NASA and NOAA found that 2012 was one of the ten warmest years on record, confirming the long-term rising trend.

The study is the first comprehensive assessment of the benefits of cutting emissions to keep the global temperature rise to within 2 degrees Celsius by 2100, a level which scientists say would avoid the worst effects of climate change.

Nigel Arnell, director of the University of Reading's Walker Institute, which led the study said: "Our research clearly identifies the benefits of reducing greenhouse gas emissions - less severe impacts on flooding and crops are two areas of particular benefit".  

Meanwhile Nasa and NOAA scientists say 2012 global temperature records further consolidate a pattern of global warming. They say that 2012 was among the 10 warmest years on record, rising above the long-term average for the 36th year in a row.

Temperature records compiled separately by Nasa and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found global surface temperatures rose 1.03F above the long-term average last year, but did not match America's record-breaking heat. The average global temperature has risen about 1.4F since 1880.

By Nasa's records, that makes 2012 the ninth hottest year on record globally. NOAA's data set put it at the 10th hottest year. The agencies use different methods to analyse data.

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