New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute

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Warming-based climate policy

See an overview of our work on warming-based climate policy.

Brown cows feeding on dusty ground with blue sky above
As temperatures rise, farmers face challenges in feeding their livestock (Image: Annie Spratt, Unsplash)

Global climate policy includes strong commitments to “stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system”.

It also encompasses global aspirations which aim at “holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels”.

Yet few, if any, climate policies place either stabilisation of concentrations or temperature at their core. We aim to inform decision-makers of current barriers to warming-centred policy. We also seek to develop new frameworks and instruments that will better align treatment of sources and sinks of emissions with these important aims.