1.5°C – dead or alive? The risks to transformational change from reaching and breaching the Paris Agreement goal

This paper is an output of the Cohort 2040 project, in collaboration with IPPR and Chatham House. This project seeks to better understand how the millennial and younger generations can provide the effective and transformational leadership needed to secure a better world even as environmental destabilisation grows. The consequences of the worsening climate and ecological crisis could present threats and opportunities to the ability of societies to become more sustainable, equitable, and resilient. This paper explores one example of this dynamic: how the growing chance of breaching the Paris Agreement goal of 1.5°C is being used to justify slower action. These dynamics could become an increasingly important factor affecting the careers and lives of younger generations. The Cohort 2040 project is exploring how to support these generations to better respond.