While limiting the global mean warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius would lead to avoiding increasingly large climate change impacts, some impacts will still occur. The efforts to manage climate change need to focus on both reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to lessen negative impacts.

“Global emissions are still increasing, but research supports the notion that the world has a possibility to stay below 2 degrees temperature increase while at the same time reducing poverty and increasing equity and an overall positive development all around the world. What is required is decarbonisation of energy systems, as well as other sectors, so that greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to zero before the end of the century,” says Markku Rummukainen.

Markku is a researcher, Professor and Deputy Director at the Centre for Environmental and Climate Research at Lund University and the coordinator of MERGE.

Read the full interview with Markku Rummukainen on the Sustainability Forum web