Going beyond two degrees? The risks and opportunities of alternative options

Jordan, Andrew ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7678-1024, Rayner, Tim, Schroeder, Heike ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2342-2030, Adger, Neil, Anderson, Kevin, Bows, Alice, Le Quéré, Corinne ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2319-0452, Joshi, Manoj ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2948-2811, Mander, Sarah, Vaughan, Naomi ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4532-2084 and Whitmarsh, Lorraine (2013) Going beyond two degrees? The risks and opportunities of alternative options. Climate Policy, 13 (6). pp. 751-769. ISSN 1469-3062

[thumbnail of Jordan-ea-2013]
Preview
PDF (Jordan-ea-2013) - Published Version
Download (297kB) | Preview

Abstract

Since the mid-1990s, the aim of keeping climate change within 2 °C has become firmly entrenched in policy discourses. In the past few years, the likelihood of achieving it has been increasingly called into question. The debate around what to do with a target that seems less and less achievable is, however, only just beginning. As the UN commences a two-year review of the 2 °C target, this article moves beyond the somewhat binary debates about whether or not it should or will be met, in order to analyse more fully some of the alternative options that have been identified but not fully explored in the existing literature. For the first time, uncertainties, risks, and opportunities associated with four such options are identified and synthesized from the literature. The analysis finds that the significant risks and uncertainties associated with some options may encourage decision makers to recommit to the 2 °C target as the least unattractive course of action.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Gold Open Access
Uncontrolled Keywords: adaptation policy,climate policy,global warming,governance,mitigation policy,post-2012 negotiations,risk governance,two degrees,unfcc,sdg 13 - climate action ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/climate_action
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA
Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Global Development (formerly School of International Development)
UEA Research Groups: University of East Anglia Schools > Faculty of Science > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Environmental Social Sciences
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Science, Society and Sustainability
Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Climate Change
Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Global Environmental Justice
Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Globalisation and CSR
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Climatic Research Unit
Depositing User: Pure Connector
Date Deposited: 09 Dec 2013 13:22
Last Modified: 13 Jun 2023 08:05
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/45694
DOI: 10.1080/14693062.2013.835705

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item