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Low carbon economy index 2013: busting the carbon budget

Low carbon economy index 2013: busting the carbon budget

The PwC Low Carbon Economy Index calculates the rate of decarbonisation of the global economy that is needed to limit warming to 2°C. In 2013, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued its Fifth Assessment Report, which includes a carbon budget for the remainder of this century giving a reasonable probability of limiting warming to 2°C. This report shows that based on this carbon budget, the global economy needs to cut carbon intensity by 6.0% every year from now to 2100. This is a monumental challenge given current decarbonisation rates are only 0.7% a year. Even doubling this rate would lead to a scenario of over 4°C warming by 2100.

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