Why is it essential to limit global warming to 2°C?
The 1995 Second Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which brings together over 1,000 leading climate scientists, put forward evidence that the risk of severe climate change impacts would increase markedly beyond a temperature rise of 2°C above pre-industrial levels. Consequently the Council of Ministers set 2°C as the EU’s target ceiling.1 Scientific studies since then, including the IPCC’s Third Assessment Report in 2001, have further underpinned the arguments for keeping within this limit. Significant impacts on ecosystems and water resources are likely even with a temperature increase of 1-2°C above pre-industrial levels. But once global warming exceeds 2°C, climate impacts on food production, water supply and ecosystems are projected to increase significantly and irreversible catastrophic events may occur. The Council has noted that to respect the 2°C limit, atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases – currently around 425 ppmv CO2 eq2 a
