Do Two Climate Wrongs Make a Right?

As the planet approaches local and global exceedance of the 1.5 degrees C stabilization target, damages from climate change, mostly due to extremes, are growing far faster than projected. While assessment models have largely estimated high costs of mitigation, the cost of green energy is dropping faster than projected. Climate policy has assumed that damage costs are manageable while decarbonization is expensive. Both these assumptions are wrong, potentially leading to a tipping point in human behavior: scientists need to explore options aligned with this emerging reality.

Automated summary

Damages from climate change are growing faster than projected, while the cost of green energy is dropping faster than expected. Current climate policies assume manageable damage costs and expensive decarbonization, but these assumptions are wrong.