Study: Efforts to curtail world temps will almost surely fail

[NickB79]

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160323152508.htm

The Texas A&M researchers modelled the projected growth in global population and per capita energy consumption, as well as the size of known reserves of oil, coal and natural gas, and greenhouse gas emissions to determine just how difficult it will be to achieve the less-than-2 degree Celsius warming goal.

"It would require rates of change in our energy infrastructure and energy mix that have never happened in world history and that are extremely unlikely to be achieved," explains Jones.

The Paris Agreement's overall goal is to replace fossil fuels, which emit huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which in turn leads to higher temperatures, with renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power and biofuels.

"Just considering wind power, we found that it would take an annual installation of 485,000 5-megawatt wind turbines by 2028. The equivalent of about 13,000 were installed in 2015. That's a 37-fold increase in the annual installation rate in only 13 years to achieve just the wind power goal," adds Jones.

I've seen similar figures here on EE posted years ago, but we were assured the Invisible Hand of Capitalism would overcome it

[SoLeftIAmRight]

1. Climate change and the sixth global mass-extinction event is happening now

we need to get to work now

[Ghost Dog]

2. Typical misleading headline.

The 'research' merely suggests that if current population growth and energy generation and consumption trends continue, and if such little effort is dedicated, as up to now, to change, then the consequences will be as predicted.

[pscot]

3. How long do you think we have

to make the necessary adjustments? At best, we're cutting it very close, and some think it's already too late.

[Ghost Dog]

4. It's never too late, in a sense, because we have no alternative

but to seek to live in and adapt to the (changing) environment. But, and it's a big but, to maintain the kinds of (consumption-mad, resource-hungry and environmentally-destructive) societies that have been developed, quite unthinkingly, in what we call the 'rich' world is impossible: it is already too late...

Radical social change is coming, is already happening. I'd say that by the end of the next 7-8-year cycle everyone in this world will be aware, and many more than now will be suffering.

Thanks for the question pscot. I don't want to be a downer: it is healthy to think and feel positively. It is far too late for prevention. There is room for some attempts at mitigation (involving social as well as technical change) but, mid- to long-term, adaptation has to be the name of the game. This will involve radical social, especially in terms of how economies are perceived and operated, change.

[OKIsItJustMe]

5. Clearly, we cannot prevent change. Change has already happened.

It’s too late to prevent further change. That is inevitable.

However, it’s never too late to affect the future.

http://today.tamu.edu/2016/03/23/goal-to-reduce-world-temps-will-fail/?from=wwwHomeNews

…

“Our study does not present an either-or situation, rather the world will require a significant shift to renewable energy sources whether we care about global warming or whether we are more concerned with providing society’s energy needs,” Jones says.

…

[Ghost Dog]

6. That's it. n/t

[Nihil]

7. The Invisible Hand of Capitalism ...

... has simply been playing with the Invisible Penis of the obscenely rich.