The Global Carbon Project has published its full analysis for 2021, reinforcing the need for rapid emissions cuts.

In the following article, Professor Pierre Friedlingstein, of Exeter's Mathematics department and Global Systems Institute (GSI), and Alissa Haward, GSI Project Manager, discuss the findings and their relevance to the climate crisis.

Our analysis from the Global Carbon Budget, published this week concludes that if we want to reach net zero CO2 emissions by 2050 we must cut global CO2 emissions by about 1.4 billion tonnes each year, starting now.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) say limiting warming to around 1.5°C requires global greenhouse gas emissions to peak before 2025 at the latest and be reduced by 43% by 2030.

Both of these findings support the requirement for urgent and transformative action for a fair and sustainable future.

Early this month, the IPCC launched the last of its three major reports that make up the Sixth Assessment Cycle (AR6). The synthesis report is due out in September this year. The message from all three reports is clear. Transformative action on climate change is needed urgently.

Read more at: University of Exeter

The initial findings from the Global Carbon Budget were published in November (Photo Credit: University of Exeter)