BEIJING, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Developed countries have repeatedly declared that a rise in global temperatures must be limited to two degrees celsius or the planet will face significant damage.
To fulfill this objective, the world has to cut the greenhouse gas emission by more than 50 percent by 2050.
Has the target been scientifically verified? In fact, experts still have disputes on it.
The two degrees celsius limit raised by developed countries, especially the EU, refers to the highest temperature rise that human society can stand compared with the level before the industrialization. If the global temperature rise surpasses two degrees, compared with the level of 1850, there would be a great increase in the population suffering from rising sea levels, famine, malaria and water shortages.
After this year's summit in Rome, the Group of Eight (G8) announced the target of reducing global emissions by at least 50 percent by 2050 and, as part of this, developed countries would reduce emissions by 80 percent by 2050.
The G8 also urged the emerging economies to adopt quantifiable measures to greatly cut greenhouse emissions in a certain period.
Many experts have expressed their disapproval with the G8 requests. The impact for developing countries can be calculated: according to the standards of the developed countries, should the developing countries reduce emissions by 20 percent by 2050, the discharge for them in 2050 will be only 8 billion tons.
Researchers from developing countries say it is practical for developed countries to cut their emissions by 50 percent by 2050,because 60-70 percent of their energy consumption is unproductive. However, in developing countries, 60-70 percent of the energy consumption is for production. It is impossible for them to limit their discharge to 8 billion tons in 2050.
The G8 seldom talks about the mid-term target for the developed countries of reducing emissions by 40 percent by 2020 compared with the level of 1990, but emphasizes the long-term target of 2050. Obviously, they want to evade the "common but differentiated responsibilities" and restrict the developing countries with the target of two degrees celsius. This contradicts the Kyoto Pact, which stipulates emission reduction for developing countries does not need to be quantified.
