Experts Call for Plan Limiting Global Warming to Below 1°C
Healthy Planet Action Coalition Press Release, COP 26, October 25, 2021
Glasgow. An international network of scientists, researchers, engineers, public policy experts,
and activists is calling for urgent global action to reverse climate change and regenerate a healthy
planet. The Open Letter to delegates and stakeholders urges COP26 to adopt a resolution
committing to develop a three-pronged climate restoration plan no later than 2023 that will limit
global warming to well below 1°C.
The letter notes that predictive models have underestimated the accelerating rate of climate
change and the severity of its impacts. “Immediate action must be taken to prevent further
catastrophic increases in temperature, weather extremes, sea level rise, and polar ice and
permafrost melt,” according to the 46 signatories. They caution that these impacts could lead to
runaway feedbacks and make future climate stabilization almost impossible. In their opinion, the
1°C goal can be achieved with a sufficiently funded, systematic, and coordinated global effort.
An effective and responsible action plan, the signers propose, would integrate three approaches:
cooling the planet, reducing GHG emissions, and removing legacy CO2, methane and other
GHGs from the atmosphere. They emphasize that all options must be on the table “and evaluated
for effectiveness, feasibility, equity, safety, timeframe, and the potential for unintended
consequences.”
