Investing in CO2 Cuts:Major Initial Expenses, Then Large Returns

The world community has a 90 percent chance of limiting global warming to 2 C (3.6 F) if it invests 2 percent of global gross domestic product in new technologies to slash greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new study. Scientists from the Netherlands and Germany said that although large initial investments will be needed this century to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the new technologies will not be a drain on world economies and will yield large returns by avoiding extremes in climate change. Reporting in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the scientists said that developing renewable energy and investing in technologies such as carbon sequestration will have a linear payoff by achieving massive CO2 reductions by century’s end. “It gets easier once the world gets going,” said one Dutch researcher. Many scientists believe that human-induced global warming must be limited to 2 C to avoid unpredictable and potentially catastrophic changes in the global climate system.