World leaders for years have crafted their climate policies around the Paris Agreement’s aim of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius if possible and 2 degrees if necessary.
But some activists say these planetary temperature targets may not be the most effective climate actions tools. They don’t clearly communicate the dangers of worsening climate impacts, and they don’t prescribe clear strategies for preventing the worst consequences of global warming.
One organization is now promoting a “second metric” for global climate action.
The Upper Limit Project argues that sea-level rise — an existential threat to coastal communities around the world — could be a better motivator for reducing global emissions. That means local leaders in vulnerable locations should advocate for sea-level limits, organizers say — ideally pushing for caps that correspond with a 1.5 C temperature trajectory.
