Socio-economic dynamics are key to addressing climate change

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Commenting on a study published today inNature Climate Change, Open University scientist Dr Neil Edwards says that the achievement of the 2°C limit for climate change predominantly depends on complex socio-economic dynamics.

The study, led by Joeri Rogelj of ETH Zurich, explores possible scenarios to address climate change, taking into account both the processes linking greenhouse gas emissions to climate warming and the economic aspects of reducing emissions. The analysis confirms that if the mechanisms needed to enable an early peak in global emissions followed by steep reductions are not put in place, there is a significant risk that the 2 °C target will not be achieved.

Dr Edwards questions whether in practice the most limiting factors in achieving the climate targets are the financial, business, social and political innovation needed to drive uptake of existing technology. He believes this is as important as the development of new technologies to address climate change.

"The Rogelj study is a big step forward in connecting natural and societal change,” said Dr Edwards. “But the next step is to include what matters closer to human scale, the link between regional climate impacts and changes in actions and choices"

Neil Edwards leads the multi-million pound project ‘Enhancing Robustness and Model Integration for the Assessment of Global Environmental Change’ (ERMITAGE), which is examining global sustainability and climate change.

Neil Edwards is a member of The Open University’s Centre for Earth, Planetary, Space & Astronomical Research (CEPSAR). The strength and excellence of the research supported by the Centre was acknowledged in the UK’s last Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2008), with 70% of its research deemed internationally excellent and world-leading. CEPSAR website: http://cepsar.open.ac.uk

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