UN on wrong track with plans to limit global warming to 2C, says top scientist

Climate change scientist James Hansen says current 'half arsed' plans to reduce emissions will lead to dangerous climate change and calls for an honest carbon price to cut fossil fuel use

One of the world's leading atmospheric scientists has told the UN that its present attempt to limit emissions is "half-arsed and half-baked" and risks handing the next generation a climate system that is out of their control.

James Hansen, former head of Nasa's Goddard Center and the man who raised awareness of climate change in a key Senate hearing back in 1988 said that the UN meeting was on the wrong track by seeking a 2C maximum rise in temperatures.