UN Scientists Measured Enough Greenhouse Gas for 1.5°C Warming

The major new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change made headlines around the world on Monday with a dire message: climate change is here, and human choices will determine how bad it gets.

That won’t come as any to surprise to those who’ve been paying even a little bit of attention to conversations around the climate. The IPCC report’s main contribution isn’t its message, but rather the precision with which it’s delivered. The United Nations-backed scientists now know that humans have, in fact, pumped enough greenhouse gases into the air to warm the planet about 1.5°C. The majority of that warming is ...