Two upcoming papers discuss the concept of a carbon quota, that is, a limited amount of carbon that can be released to the atmosphere in order to remain below a certain global warming target.
The first paper, published in Nature Geoscience, indicates that we have already used up two thirds of the carbon quota needed to keep global warming under two degrees celsius, and that at current rates, the remaining quota will be exhausted within 30 years. The second, published in Nature Climate Change, discusses various ways to translate this global carbon quota to regional and national scales.
Two accompanying commentary articles (paper 1, paper 2) discuss the policy implications of these findings.
