Climatologist Jean-Pascal Van Ypersele at COP 15
Interview prepared by Natasja Bohez Rubiano and Julien Demoustier
EOE: Do you think the Danish Prime Minister’s objectives to reduce CO2 by 50% in 2050 or the EU’s aims to reduce CO2 by 20% in 2020 are sufficient and realistic?
J.P. VY: That entirely depends on what you call realistic. If we want to prevent global temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees, developed nations have to cut CO2 emissions from 50% to 80% by 2050. It is better to set objectives rather than not having any at all. In terms of what is sufficient to stop global warming, it is not enough if our efforts simply stop at staying below a temperature rise of 2 degrees. The Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) can however not determine “absolute” figures. In other words, we are responsible for recording scientific observations but establishing a limit for the rise of global temperature is ultimately a political choice.