Via BBC.com: Climate change: 'Hothouse Earth' risks even if CO₂ emissions slashedBy Matt McGrath/ Environment correspondent
It may sound like the title of a low budget sci-fi movie, but for planetary scientists, "Hothouse Earth" is a deadly serious concept.
Researchers believe we could soon cross a threshold leading to boiling hot temperatures and towering seas in the centuries to come.
Even if countries succeed in meeting their CO₂ targets, we could still lurch on to this "irreversible pathway".
Their study shows it could happen if global temperatures rise by 2 deg C.
The scientists involved say the heating we've experienced until now, and the increases that will likely occur in the next few decades, could turn some of the Earth's natural forces - that currently protect us - into our enemies...
