...limit emissions cannot await the time when the full impacts are evident. The lag time between emission of the gases and their full impact is on the order...emissions thus commit the planet to changes well into the 21st century. And the lag times between identification of policy options, legislation of controls,...

...limit emissions cannot await the time when the full impacts are evident. The lag time between emission of the gases and their full impact is on the order of decades to centuries;2 so too is the time needed to reverse any effects. Today's emissions thus commit the planet...