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Forums » Climate change questions » How long have we got?

How long have we got?

jo_hamilton on 15th Mar 07, 17:25:41 said:

How long until we reach the point that we can no longer do anything about it?

framo on 16th May 07, 13:07:51 replied:

Is this a well-posed question? How long have we got till what happens? If your tolerance of climate related damages is high, then we probably have quite a while; if your tolerance of climate-related damages is low, we probably don't have as long. Either way, the problem seems to hinge on the forward migration of the energy system to less fossil fuel intensive futures. Given the life-cycle of most of the energy system is several decades, this process might take quite a while, even in the best cases. Strikes me as a lot like the brewing pensions problem. Important, sure, but urgent? Not really.