1.5 degrees – where are we now, where are we headed, what are the risks?

L-R Piers Forster, Ros Cornforth, Richard Betts and Adelle Thomas at the UNFCCC COP26 side event

On Wednesday 10 November, CONSTRAIN took part in a UNFCCC COP26 side event on 1.5°C: where we are now, where we are headed, and the associated risks.

The event was chaired by Professor Richard Betts of the UK Met Office and University of Exeter.  First, Professor Pierre Friedlingstein of the University of Exeter presented the 2021 rebound in carbon emissions from the Global Carbon Project, followed by Professor Piers Forster of the University of Leeds and Priestley International Centre for Climate, who spoke on what this means for 1.5°C ambition.   Professor Ros Cornforth of the University of Reading’s Walker Institute then spoke on the impacts and risks of continued warming.

A wider panel including Dr Adelle Thomas of Climate Analytics and University of the Bahamas, Dr Debra Roberts, Head of the Sustainable and Resilient City Initiatives Unit in eThekwini Municipality in Durban, South Africa, and Professor Jason Lowe of the University of Leeds and UK Met Office discussed the presentations and reflected on how can we build greater resilience to those risks.