Can climate change be stopped?
Possibly. Greenhouse gases already emitted since the industrial revolution have committed us to a temperature rise of a degree or more. Carbon dioxide persists in the atmosphere for about 100 years, so concentrations respond very slowly to changes in emissions. Even if we drastically cut carbon dioxide emissions, global temperature will take several decades to stabilise, and sea level several centuries or longer.
But if we reduced emissions by 60% over the next few decades, carbon dioxide levels should not exceed twice the pre-industrial level of 280ppm. We do not really know how much climate change human society can cope with, so many people argued we should make the cut as a precaution. And there is the possibility that climate change will accelerate as a result of the carbon dioxide we have already emitted to the atmosphere.