Our current CO2 emissions are already above the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projections. (IPCC report)
We are headed towards a future which is even more dangerous than the report’s most pessimistic scenarios.
This figure shows the past and current global warming, showing clear evidence of the man caused temperature increase.
Different surface warming scenarios are also shown, red representing the worst case scenario:
IPCC
The following figure from a recent study shows that we are currently above the worst case scenario projections (A1FI-red line).
A1FI (high) projections were of +2.7% increase of Co2 emissions per year, but the actual growth is at +3.5% per year (from 2000-2007).
Raupach et al., PNAS, 2007
This means that our temperature will increase more than 5 °C by the end of the century. How many degrees and how fast our temperatures will rise is still uncertain, but we will see the impacts of global warming in our lifetime, that’s almost guaranteed.
Following is a summary of some of the consequences of climate change:
Stern review on the economics of climate change, 2006
EcoToaD 