1.5°C scenario

Definition

The 1.5°C scenario is a climate mitigation pathway identified by the IPCC and the UNFCCC, aimed at limiting the increase in global average temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. It serves as a scientific benchmark for defining necessary greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Key Characteristics

  • Sets a global target for limiting temperature rise to 1.5°C.
  • Requires significant decarbonization across all industrial sectors.
  • Targets net-zero ambitions by the year 2050.
  • Serves as the basis for determining sectoral carbon budgets.

Applications

  • Deriving upper limits for the ICT sector’s GHG footprint, as implemented in ITU-T L.1470.
  • Guiding organizational and national climate action strategies.
  • Establishing science-based targets for emission reductions to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change.

Mentions in Source

  • “The trajectories, the long-term ambition and the 2015 baseline have been derived in accordance with Recommendation ITU-T L.1450 and through complementary methods in support of the 1.5°C objective described by the IPCC in its Special report: Global warming of 1.5°C.” — ITU-T L.1470 (Greening Digital)