Carbon justice

News in Brief

The UK government and the CCC have both been criticised by climate scientist Kevin Anderson.

Many climate models assume we will succeed in using planetary-scale technologies to remove CO2 from the atmosphere.

According to Anderson’s recent research, if these highly speculative options don’t materialise, and assuming the UK does get to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, the country will consume at least twice its ‘fair share’ of the world’s remaining carbon budget (for keeping global warming to ‘well below’ 2°C).

‘Globally, the wealthiest 10% are responsible for half of all emissions, the wealthiest 20% for 70% of emissions,’ Anderson told the Guardian.

He went on: ‘If regulations forced the [global] top 10% to cut their emissions to the level of the average EU citizen, and the other 90% made no change in their lifestyles, that would still cut total emissions by a third. If we were serious about this crisis we could do this in a year … but we are not and our emissions just keep rising.’

Topics: climate justice