Climate Interactive: The C-Roads Climate Policy Model

Abstract

In 1992 the nations of the world created the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to negotiate binding agreements to address the risks of climate change. Nearly every nation on Earth committed to limiting global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to prevent “dangerous anthropogenic interference in the climate system,” [superscript 1] which is generally accepted to mean limiting the increase in mean global surface temperature to 2 degrees C above pre-industrial levels.[superscript 2] High hopes were dashed at the 2009 Copenhagen climateconference when face-to-face negotiations among heads of state collapsed. Instead, nations were encouraged to make voluntary pledges to reduce their emissions. Those pledges currently fall significantly short of what is needed (UNEP, 2010) while GHG emissions have risen to record levels despite the great recession that began in 2008.