Analysis and
Environment
Some researchers propose that countries should start to rack up a carbon debt once they exceed their carbon budget, obliging them to do more to draw down carbon dioxide, but the idea is unlikely to form part of international climate agreements
Nations that emit the most greenhouse gases would have the most responsibility for overshooting the 1.5°C goal
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Each country should be held responsible for how much it is to blame when the world overshoots the 1.5°C warming limit – by assigning a “net-zero carbon debt” if it has pumped out more than its fair share of emissions, a team of climate scientists is proposing.
The aim is to encourage those with greater responsibility for the overshoot to make amends by, say, removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or helping other countries reach net-zero faster.
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