The human imperative of stabilizing global climate change at 1.5°C

O. Hoegh-Guldberg (1) , D. Jacob (2) , M Taylor , T Guillén Bolaños , M. Bindi (3) , S Brown , I A Camilloni , A. Diedhiou (4) , R Djalante , K Ebi , F Engelbrecht , Joel Guiot (5) , Y Hijioka , S Mehrotra , C W Hope , A J Payne , H.-O Pörtner , S I Seneviratne , A Thomas , R Warren , G Zhou

1 Global change institute and ARC Centre for excellence in Coral reef studies
2 MPI-M - Max Planck Institute for Meteorology
3 DAGRI - Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry
4 IGE - Institut des Géosciences de l’Environnement
5 CEREGE - Centre européen de recherche et d'enseignement des géosciences de l'environnement

Increased concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases have led to a global mean surface temperature 1.0 degrees C higher than during the pre-industrial period. We expand on the recent IPCC Special Report on global warming of 1.5 degrees C and review the additional risks associated with higher levels of warming, each having major implications for multiple geographies, climates, and ecosystems. Limiting warming to 1.5 degrees C rather than 2.0 degrees C would be required to maintain substantial proportions of ecosystems and would have clear benefits for human health and economies. These conclusions are relevant for people everywhere, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where the escalation of climate-related risks may prevent the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Keywords: WATER AVAILABILITY; 2-DEGREES-C; HEAT; TEMPERATURE; ISLAND; PRECIPITATION

Keywords: AIR-POLLUTION; EXTREME; IMPACT; INTENSIFICATION

Domains: Continental interfaces, environment

O. Hoegh-Guldberg, D. Jacob, M Taylor, T Guillén Bolaños, M. Bindi, et al.. The human imperative of stabilizing global climate change at 1.5°C. Science, 2019, 365 (6459), pp.1263 - +. ⟨10.1126/science.aaw6974⟩. ⟨insu-02360600⟩