ABSTRACT
In order to stabilize the CO2 emissions at about 500 ppm, carbon emissions need to be held at the 2004 level of 7 Gt/y (25.7 Gt of CO2 per year) for the next 50 years, even though under the Business-as-usual (BAU) dispensation, they are due to rise to 14 Gt/y by 2054. Seven wedges have been proposed to achieve reduction in carbon emissions. “A wedge represents an activity that reduces emissions to the atmosphere that starts at zero today and increases linearly until it accounts for 1Gt C/y of reduced carbon emissions in 50 years” (Pacala and Socolow, 2004, p. 968) (Table 1.7.1).
