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The co-evolution of technological promises, modelling, policies and climate change targets

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The co-evolution of technological promises, modelling, policies and climate change targets. / McLaren, Duncan; Markusson, Nils.
In: Nature Climate Change, Vol. 10, 01.05.2020, p. 392-397.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

McLaren, D & Markusson, N 2020, 'The co-evolution of technological promises, modelling, policies and climate change targets', Nature Climate Change, vol. 10, pp. 392-397. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-0740-1

APA

McLaren, D., & Markusson, N. (2020). The co-evolution of technological promises, modelling, policies and climate change targets. Nature Climate Change, 10, 392-397. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-0740-1

Vancouver

McLaren D, Markusson N. The co-evolution of technological promises, modelling, policies and climate change targets. Nature Climate Change. 2020 May 1;10:392-397. Epub 2020 Apr 20. doi: 10.1038/s41558-020-0740-1

Author

McLaren, Duncan ; Markusson, Nils. / The co-evolution of technological promises, modelling, policies and climate change targets. In: Nature Climate Change. 2020 ; Vol. 10. pp. 392-397.

Bibtex

@article{5e75944c42f34a55aa2ab151abcc52c1,
title = "The co-evolution of technological promises, modelling, policies and climate change targets",
abstract = "The nature and framing of climate targets in international politics has changed substantially since their early expressions in the 1980s. Here, we describe their evolution in five phases-from 'climate stabilization' to specific 'temperature outcomes'-co-evolving with wider climate politics and policy, modelling methods and scenarios, and technological promises (from nuclear power to carbon removal). We argue that this co-evolution has enabled policy prevarication, leaving mitigation poorly delivered, yet the technological promises often remain buried in the models used to inform policy. We conclude with a call to recognise and break this pattern to unleash more effective and just climate policy.This Perspective maps the history of climate targets and shows how the international goal of avoiding dangerous climate change has been reinterpreted in the light of new modelling methods and technological promises, ultimately enabling policy prevarication and limiting mitigation.",
author = "Duncan McLaren and Nils Markusson",
year = "2020",
month = may,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1038/s41558-020-0740-1",
language = "English",
volume = "10",
pages = "392--397",
journal = "Nature Climate Change",
issn = "1758-678X",
publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - The co-evolution of technological promises, modelling, policies and climate change targets

AU - McLaren, Duncan

AU - Markusson, Nils

PY - 2020/5/1

Y1 - 2020/5/1

N2 - The nature and framing of climate targets in international politics has changed substantially since their early expressions in the 1980s. Here, we describe their evolution in five phases-from 'climate stabilization' to specific 'temperature outcomes'-co-evolving with wider climate politics and policy, modelling methods and scenarios, and technological promises (from nuclear power to carbon removal). We argue that this co-evolution has enabled policy prevarication, leaving mitigation poorly delivered, yet the technological promises often remain buried in the models used to inform policy. We conclude with a call to recognise and break this pattern to unleash more effective and just climate policy.This Perspective maps the history of climate targets and shows how the international goal of avoiding dangerous climate change has been reinterpreted in the light of new modelling methods and technological promises, ultimately enabling policy prevarication and limiting mitigation.

AB - The nature and framing of climate targets in international politics has changed substantially since their early expressions in the 1980s. Here, we describe their evolution in five phases-from 'climate stabilization' to specific 'temperature outcomes'-co-evolving with wider climate politics and policy, modelling methods and scenarios, and technological promises (from nuclear power to carbon removal). We argue that this co-evolution has enabled policy prevarication, leaving mitigation poorly delivered, yet the technological promises often remain buried in the models used to inform policy. We conclude with a call to recognise and break this pattern to unleash more effective and just climate policy.This Perspective maps the history of climate targets and shows how the international goal of avoiding dangerous climate change has been reinterpreted in the light of new modelling methods and technological promises, ultimately enabling policy prevarication and limiting mitigation.

U2 - 10.1038/s41558-020-0740-1

DO - 10.1038/s41558-020-0740-1

M3 - Journal article

VL - 10

SP - 392

EP - 397

JO - Nature Climate Change

JF - Nature Climate Change

SN - 1758-678X

ER -