NASA study fixes error in low contrarian climate sensitivity estimates | Dana Nuccitelli

Some previous studies claiming that the climate is insensitive to carbon pollution missed a key factor

Climate sensitivity - the amount of global surface warming we'll see as a result of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels - has become contrarians' favorite basis to argue against cutting carbon pollution. If the Earth's climate is relatively insensitive to rising carbon levels, then it's somewhat less urgent that we stop burning massive quantities of fossil fuels. However, a new NASA study indicates that's not the case.

There are a few different ways that climate scientists estimate the Earth's sensitivity to rising carbon. When they look at climate changes in the distant past (paleoclimate), and at simulations from complex climate models, they get about the same result: if the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere doubles, temperatures will rise between 2C and 4.5C, most likely 3C.