Human activities are warming the atmosphere and oceans. Since the United Nations ‘Earth Summit’ of 1992, governments have met annually to determine how best to reduce the levels of greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions from power stations, motor vehicles, aircraft, cement factories and so on. Their policy discussions and decisions have been informed by scientific targets. Chief among them have been average global temperature ‘guardrails’.
The Paris Agreement of 2015 aspires to keep the future average surface temperature to 1.5ºC above pre-1800 levels, and no more than 2º higher. This target was recommended by several climate scientists who use complex computer models to predict future climates.
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