If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilisation developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that COโ will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm [parts per million] to at most 350 ppm... If the present overshoot of this target COโ is not brief, there is a possibility of seeding irreversible catastrophic effects.
James HansenInjection of environmental and political perspectives in midstream of the science discussion cannot help the process of inquiry. I believe that persons with relevant scientific expertise should concentrate, with pride, on cool objective analysis, providing information to the public and decision-makers when it is found, but leaving the moral implications for later common consideration, or at most for summary inferential discussion.
James HansenWhat we are doing to the future of our children, and the other species on the planet, is a clear moral issue.
James HansenIt has become very difficult for anyone to argue that observed global warming is natural variability. We have good reason for being able to say that the world will be warmer by about a quarter of a degree in the next decade. It's the same reason we had 10 years ago when we said that the 1990s would be warmer than the 1980s: The planet is out of equilibrium.
James Hansen