Feb 10, 2021

A hard line on the climate

A 90% cut in carbon emissions from fossil fuels over 30 years means reductions of 7.5% per year. (The reductions look steeper at the beginning due to cutting from a larger base – exponential growth in reverse.) If the remaining 10% were sequestered by improved land use management or other means, this would achieve net zero emissions.

This rate exceeds the pace of reductions achieved by any country to date. It also exceeds the rate that would be achieved by pricing emissions at the “social cost of carbon” as conventionally measured: see here and here.