New PCIC Science Brief

PCIC is pleased to announce the release of our next Science Brief. The new Science Brief covers part of the discussion surrounding the designation of “business as usual” often given to Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5, an emissions scenario used to create future climate projections. Recently, some scientists have taken issue with this description, saying it is unrealistic and may hinder the goal of emissions reductions policy. Others argue that, in fact, RCP 8.5 is the scenario that most closely tracks cumulative emissions to date, that it is thus of the most use for planning out to the middle of the century. Through the lens of four recent articles in Nature and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, we unpack the key arguments and evaluate what these differing perspectives can tell us about the ultimate objective of emissions scenarios as tools for exploring future climate change.

Read the new Science Brief.