The longer it takes to reach net zero, the greater the risk that global warming will continue for decades or millennia even after we have cut greenhouse gas emissions, according to an assessment by climate researchers.
This means we may have to emit even less carbon dioxide than we thought if we want to limit warming to, say, 2°C, making carbon budgets even smaller than current estimates.
“The timing at which we reach net zero is also key,” says Roland Séférian…