Policy paper no. 12
Climate stabilization
July 2021
German Advisory Council on Global Change
Effective climate policy requires long-term strategies The international community faces enormous challenges in the 21st century. The impacts of climate change are increasingly being felt – with risks and damage to nature and humanity on an unprecedented scale. Add to this the COVID-19 pandemic, which has triggered a global health, economic and financial crisis. Countries are currently mobilizing substantial sums worldwide to stabilize their economies – but
are not sufficiently taking into account that what is needed is not just reconstruction but a transformative restructuring of the economy. These investments will help shape climate-change mitigation for decades to come. At the same time, many countries are working on the implementation of the Paris Agreement (PA). The priority now is to reconcile short- and long-term goals and measures to overcome both crises. The
Emissions
Mandatory national long-term strategies Climate stabilization
Sustainability agenda
Phase out fossil fuels Strengthen biosphere
Strategies for CO2 removal Finance and regulation
International embedding
Recover Forward
Climate neutrality
Climate stabilization Time
Long-term strategies for climate stabilization It should become mandatory for countries to formulate and communicate long-term strategies. They should gear these not only towards national climate neutrality but also towards global climate stabilization. Global emission pathways compatible with this (IPCC, 2018) are indicated in blue. COVID-19 stimulus programmes should also contribute to this (‘Recover Forward’). The long-term strategies should aim for multiple benefits in the sense of the sustainability agenda, be internationally embedded and provide for reliable regulatory framework conditions and funding mechanisms. Focus topics should include phasing out the use of fossil fuels, strengthening the biosphere and strategically preparing options for the permanent CO2 removal from the atmosphere. Source: WBGU; graphics: Wernerwerke, Berlin
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