Ambrose Evans-Pritchard talks in his blog about a recent Goldman Sachs meeting about climate change. In particular, this is what Lord Nicholas Stern had to say after declaring that we have a 50% “chance of destroying civilization within the life-span of people already born, unless drastic action is taken to slow CO2 emissions“:
[We] will have to cut from 6 tonnes of carbon per capita to 2 tonnes
The above means a 90% cut in emissions for the USA, a figure that becomes “only” 83% for Europe. How can that be achieved?
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Well, we should acknowledge Stern’s consistency. He wants people’s activities to emit less carbon than at present; and he knows that the poorer people are, the less carbon they emit.
Hence his single-mindedness on getting everybody as indigent as possible, starting with a dent of 1.5 to 2.5% of world GDP “for insurance purposes“.
Actually, if only we were as destitute as the poorest landless peasant in Bangladesh or Zambia, there would be no reason to worry about the Earth’s climate.
It’s not quite correct that we would have to stop emitting and sequester now to lower the concentration. CO2 in the atmosphere is consumed at a certain rate by plant life, and other atmospheric processes where it is broken down in the atmosphere. There is disagreement about the half-life of CO2 in the atmosphere.
[...] (b)) look absolutely irrelevant, and of course both Stern and Gore (scenarios (c) and (d)) have the single-minded goal to make us all miserable (starting with the Chinese). The one “hope” is in carbon capture and storing, something presented by Dyson in his [...]
My goal is to keep CO2 emissions below 1,000,000ppm. I think I am doing just fine
Please do try to keep up. As long as you’re complaining be aware that the goal of James Hansen and many other like minded Global Warming activists is 350 ppm CO2. Since we are already well past this figure that would neccesitate a net decrease in carbon emissions to the atmosphere.
In simple terms for both your readers that means that CO2 emissions would have to be zero AND substantial carbon sequestration would have to be engaged.
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/3/19/13140/3196
That much chance of desctroying civilization.
I guess if he has his way, civilization would just go broke:
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1812325,00.html?xid=rss-topstories