Good news, but we musn't take our eye off the ball

Prof Malte Meinshausen -
"It's the low-carbon
future we want to see".

The news is good – global carbon dioxide emissions plateaued in 2014, but we can’t take our eye off the ball.

Writing in The Age, Environment Editor at the Sydney Morning Herald, Peter Hannam, said, “Last month capped 30 years in which average monthly temperatures worldwide have been warmer than the average for the 20th century. That's 360 consecutive months.

“And that warming trend, which scientists say is mostly the result of a build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, remains strong - although there are finally signs that carbon emissions may be peaking,” he wrote.

An associate professor at the University of Melbourne's school of earth sciences Professor Malte Meinshausen said the stall in emissions was "at least a start".

"It's the entry requirement for whatever low-carbon future we want to see," he said.

He was quoted in the Age story - “Thirty years of consecutive warmth: the heat really is on”.