We still have time to act on climate, finds report

Immediate and broad action taken today can offset the worst impacts of climate change, a new report published in Nature Climate Change has concluded.

The study used 22 climate models to project how often temperature records would be broken under two scenarios; one of rapid decarbonisation and one of business-as-usual.

The report, authored by two scientists from the Bureau of Meteorology, shows that in a business-as-usual approach to emissions, high monthly mean temperatures will be set in 58% of the world every year, and in 67% of least developed countries and 68% of small island developing states.

The report shows that these figures drop to 14% under a scenario of rapid carbon abatement, meaning that the likelihood of ‘smashing’ at least one monthly record by more than 1.0 °C is much less likely.

The full report can be found here