A 'Carbon Law' Offers Pathway to Halve Emissions Every Decade

On the eve of this year's Earth hour (March 25), researchers propose a solution in the journal Science for the global economy to rapidly reduce carbon emissions.  The authors argue a carbon roadmap, driven by a simple rule of thumb or 'carbon law' of halving emissions every decade, could catalyze disruptive innovation.

On the eve of this year's Earth hour (25 March), researchers propose a solution in the journal Science (24 March) for the global economy to rapidly reduce carbon emissions.  The authors argue a carbon roadmap, driven by a simple rule of thumb or "carbon law" of halving emissions every decade, could catalyse disruptive innovation.

Such a "carbon law," based on Moore's Law in the computer industry, applies to cities, nations and industrial sectors.

The authors say fossil-fuel emissions should peak by 2020 at the latest and fall to around zero by 2050 to meet the UN's Paris Agreement's climate goal of limiting the global temperature rise to "well below 2°C" from preindustrial times.

A "carbon law" approach, say the international team of scientists, ensures that the greatest efforts to reduce emissions happens sooner not later and reduces the risk of blowing the remaining global carbon budget to stay below 2°C.

The researchers say halving emissions every decade should be complemented by equally ambitious, exponential roll-out of renewables.  For example, doubling renewables in the energy sector every 5-7 years, ramping up technologies to remove carbon from the atmosphere, and rapidly reducing emissions from agriculture and deforestation.

Read more at A 'Carbon Law' Offers Pathway to Halve Emissions Every Decade