50% by 2050 is Not Good Enough

G-8 leaders at a summit in Toyako on Tuesday pledged to reduce emissions 50% by 2050. While this is the first time that world leaders embraced a goal to cut emissions, their ambitions fall short of their intended efforts to combat global warming.

The effects of global climate change are apparent now. The consequences require immediate action, not a leisurely attempt in the hopes of having the problem disappear in 42 years.

The goal also did not specify a base year for the proposed cuts, which could lead to unstable and uncertain environmental effects.

The target is weak, slow, and insufficient in mitigating the already present results of our addiction to fossil fuels and our readiness to release harmful toxins into the atmosphere.