+1.5°C: How many greenhouse gases are we still allowed to emit? Background paper on global and national greenhouse gas budgets
To keep global warming below a certain maximum level, as set out in the Paris Climate Agreement, the total amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions still being released into the atmosphere is what matters. Austria has committed under the Paris Agreement to playing its part in limiting the rise in global average temperature to +1.5°C. If we want to stay true to this scientifically well-founded goal, global and national GHG emissions need to be reduced rapidly — otherwise we're currently on track for global warming of +2.8°C, which would result in significantly greater damage and losses.
The CCCA background paper "+1.5°C: How many greenhouse gases are we still allowed to emit?" draws on existing scientific literature to explain how global GHG and CO2 budgets can be scaled down to budgets for Austria and what specific figures this yields for Austria. This paper was developed through a broad review process involving the Austrian climate and transformation research community. (As of November 2022)
The full background paper is available for download below.
