Climate paradox: Emission cuts could ‘unmask’ deadly face of climate change, scientists warn
BY SAUL ELBEIN - 06/01/23 6:00 AM ET
Scientists have uncovered a potentially lethal paradox at the heart of efforts to slow human-caused climate change.
A series of new studies suggest a stark truth.
One the one hand, cutting fossil fuel pollution is necessary for avoiding severe destruction over the long term. But such cuts will make the earth much hotter in the short term.
One recent study cast the well-known declines in air pollution during the COVID-19 pandemic in a darker light.
These cuts remain one of the only examples of successful cuts to climate-warming pollution, but the new study found that those pandemic-era cuts in air pollution led to a rise in global temperatures.
The findings, published on Wednesday in the journal NPJ Climate and Atmospheric Science, unveil a stark paradox at the heart of human-caused climate change.
https://thehill.com/policy/equilibrium-sustainability/4028811-climate-paradox-emission-cuts-could-unmask-deadly-face-of-climate-change-scientists-warn/