An article in today’s Washington Post reported on new scientific research suggesting that emissions of greenhouse gases must be reduced to zero by mid-century, in order to prevent global warming that could persist for hundreds of years, perhaps eventually producing average temperatures higher than for millions of years. As the climate debate focuses increasingly on policy, the impact of such findings on efforts to craft practical frameworks for reducing US and global emissions becomes as important as the scientific result itself. The implication of the need for truly radical change contained in this latest report might either galvanize action on capping our emissions, or convince us that none of the current pathways for reducing emissions is truly worth pursuing.
