'Heartening' US-China emissions deal falls far short of IPCC goal

A new accord between the US and China to cut greenhouse gas emissions falls far short of a road map toward zero net emissions by century’s end that the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) holds is necessary, Reuters reported, citing IPCC Chair Rajendra Pachauri. Pachauri called the deal “a heartening development,” but acknowledged that planned cuts would not be enough to avert what a recent IPCC report called “severe, widespread and irreversible impacts” on human society and nature caused by emissions, including intensifying heat waves, floods, storms and rising sea levels.