Lavanya Rajamani co-authors article in ‘Science’ journal

Professor of International Environmental Law, Lavanya Rajamani, and co-author Joeri Rogelj, Professor of Climate Science and Policy at Imperial College London, argue in a recently published article in ‘Science’ that limiting global warming to 1.5°C remains a crucial legal and ethical obligation, despite the world being already close to this threshold. The article, ‘The pursuit of 1.5°C endures as a legal and ethical imperative in a changing world’, explains that this target, established by the Paris Agreement, guides mitigation, adaptation, and climate governance efforts. The authors highlight that crossing 1.5°C intensifies States' responsibilities to reduce emissions and increases the urgency for adaptation and financial compensation for climate-related damage, especially for vulnerable populations.

They argue that global climate governance needs to move towards better and tighter mechanisms of accountability to achieve near-term emissions reductions and focus on adaptation, loss and damage, and support.

Ultimately, the authors conclude that the Paris Agreement's framework provides the only globally inclusive forum for a collective response to climate change, regardless of geopolitical shifts.