The Anthropocene, global change and sleeping giants: where on Earth are we going?

Will Steffen

doi:10.1186/1750-0680-1-3

Abstract

The Anthropocene, global change and sleeping giants: where on Earth are we going?

Highlights

The "climate problem" has come to the fore in public policy debates over the last year or so
The continuing high temperatures, the spate of intense tropical cyclones and deepening droughts in some parts of the world have focused attention on the issue of defining "dangerous climate change" [1]. This is often conceptualised as an upper limit to the rise in global mean temperature, for example, 2°C above pre-industrial levels, which in turn leads to a back calculation of the permissible concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere and to the trajectories of the corresponding maximum anthropogenic carbon emissions
A very important exercise, this approach to defining dangerous climate change can itself be dangerous, in particular because it often ignores the systemic nature of the global environment

Summary

Introduction

The "climate problem" has come to the fore in public policy debates over the last year or so. This is often conceptualised as an upper limit to the rise in global mean temperature, for example, 2°C above pre-industrial levels, which in turn leads to a back calculation of the permissible concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere and to the trajectories of the corresponding maximum anthropogenic carbon emissions. These are natural phenomena in the dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems, an increase in the frequency or extent of these disturbances results in a net loss of carbon to the atmosphere.

Results

Conclusion