This is from last fall, but it makes the central point about the importance of a 'global carbon budget.' The thing to keep in mind is that (for all practical purposes) the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is cumulative. It is this total amount, not the rate of emission, that determines the effect on the climate. If we want to keep the global temperature increase below 2 degrees C, the total amount of gases cannot exceed a certain limit. This is the basis for the IPCC saying that 75-80% of fossil fuel reserves must stay in the ground, forever.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/ipcc-climate-change-report-contains-grave-carbon-budget-message-16569
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