GSI Seminar - Overshoot (and other lazy narratives in climate policy), Dr James Dyke

It is now almost certain that 2024 will be the warmest year in the instrument record. The highest ambition of the Paris Agreement - to limit to warming to 1.5°C - now relies on correction from overshoot via the deployment of large-scale carbon dioxide removal and/or solar geoengineering in order to drag temperatures back down by 2100.

James will stress the importance of developing post 1.5 narratives given that it is increasingly likely that long-term warming will exceed this level within the next few years. With record-breaking carbon emissions and weather going increasingly bananas, claims that 1.5 is climate policy's “north start” will be increasingly exposed. The communications around 1.5 is already a mess and is going to get much worse. This represents ideal opportunities for bad faith actors. 

More broadly James will argue that overshoot is the latest lazy narrative developed by a climate policy approach that has failed to respond to the urgency of the climate and ecological crisis. As the logical development of net zero, overshoot allows politicians and industry leaders to claim that they are working to avoid dangerous climate change while avoiding doing what is actually required to avoid dangerous climate - which is the rapid phase out of fossil fuels.  

Please let us know if you will be attending in person by emailing infogsi@exeter.ac.uk.

If you'd like to join online and are not on our mailing list, please also email infogsi@exeter.ac.uk.

The Zoom link will be distributed nearer the time.