IEA: door to 2 degree temperature limit is closing

The chance of limiting the rise in global temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius this century is getting slimmer and slimmer, the head of the International Energy Agency warned on Wednesday.

<p>"What I see now with existing investments for plants under construction…we are seeing the door for a 2 degree Celsius target about to be closed and closed forever," <b>Fatih Birol</b>, the IEA’s chief economist, told a Reuters’ Global Energy & Environment Summit.</p><p>"This door is getting slimmer and slimmer in terms of physical and economic possibility," he warned.</p><p>The IEA said last November that around 80 percent of total energy-related carbon emissions permissible by 2035 to limit warming were already accounted for by existing power plants, buildings and factories, leaving little room for more.</p><p>Source: <a href="http://www.eceee.org/news/News_2012/2012-05-16">eceee</a>.</p><p></p>