What has become clear from the science is that we cannot burn all of the fossil fuels without creating a very different planet.
James Hansen...the global surface albedo [surface whiteness] and greenhouse gas changes account for practically the entire global climate change.
James HansenHow long have we got? We have to stabilize emissions of carbon dioxide within a decade, or temperatures will warm by more than one degree... We don't have much time left.
James HansenIf 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 Hansen