Michael Schlesinger: WSJ Wrong About Future Global Warming

In “Cooling Down the Fears of Climate Change” (WSJ, 19 December 2012), Matt Ridley mentions the findings of my Climate Research Group’s paper “Causes of the Warming Observed Since the 19th Century” (http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?paperID=24283). 

In his article, Mr. Ridley is just plain wrong about future global warming. 

In our paper "A Fair Plan to Safeguard Earth’s Climate” (http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?paperID=20038), we show that by the middle of this century the warming will exceed the 2 °C (3.6 °F) maximum allowed by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to "prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system."

In that paper and its sequel, "A Revised Fair Plan to Safeguard Earth's Climate" (http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?paperID=23864), we phase out the emission of greenhouse gases this century such that the cumulative greenhouse-gas emissions by the Developing and Developed Countries are equal.  Both Plans keep global warming below the UNFCCC allowable maximum of 2 °C.

Michael Schlesinger, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign