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CONSTRAIN @ the UNFCCC Climate Dialogues
If you missed our UNFCCC Climate Dialogues event on the latest climate models, the Paris Agreement Long-Term Temperature Goal and the climate impact of COVID-19, you can watch the three talks below.
The event, chaired by Dr Joeri Rogelj (Grantham Institute, Imperial College London) highlighted how a new generation of climate models, CMIP6, is informing our understanding of future temperature change, what this tells us about meeting the Paris Agreement’s ambition of limiting temperature rise to 1.5°C, and how climate action can move forward in the light of COVID-19.
The speakers, all CONSTRAIN scientists, were Dr Kasia Tokarska (ETH Zurich), Dr Carl-Friedrich Schleussner (Climate Analytics), and Professor Piers Forster (Priestley International Centre for Climate, University of Leeds). Their talks were followed by reflections from a panel that included Rueanna Haynes (Climate Analytics), Maria Laura Rojas (Transforma), Kaisa Kosonen (Greenpeace) and Miles Perry (DG Clima, European Commission).
Key points included the importance of understanding the nature of the Paris Agreement Long-Term Temperature Goal, including how it is defined, and, crucially, the fact that it is still within reach. This message should be used to raise ambition and encourage action through both upcoming Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and net-zero targets.
The message that COVID-19 recovery spending could keep the LTTG alive, through hard and fast climate action that could slowing warming rates in the short-term, was considered particularly powerful. It was also stressed that current stimulus packages are not the first and last opportunity for a green recovery – recovery spending is a longer-term issue and there will still be more chances to integrate climate action.
More details on the topics covered in the talks will be presented in the upcoming second CONSTRAIN Zero In Report, to be found on our website very soon!