...99 percent confident that the world really was getting warmer and that there was a high degree of probability that it was due to human-made greenhouse gases.
James HansenRead
'Goals' and 'caps' on carbon emissions are practically worthless, if coal emissions continue, because of the exceedingly long lifetime of carbon dioxide in the air.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Setting goals for carbon emissions is ineffective if coal remains a primary source of pollution.
James Hansen emphasizes that merely establishing goals and limits on carbon emissions will not be effective if coal continues to be used as an energy source, as carbon dioxide can remain in the atmosphere for an exceedingly long time. This highlights the importance of addressing the root cause of emissions rather than just focusing on targets, stressing that long-term environmental issues cannot be solved by short-term measures alone.
Themes
Carbon EmissionsCoalGoalsEnvironmentGlobal Warming
In practice
Example use cases
During a climate change conference to illustrate the limitations of current emission goals.
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