Figure-3.7: Carbon dioxide concentrations and compatible emissions under the four Representative Concentration Pathways

Carbon dioxide concentrations for four different Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs; upper panel) and the corresponding compatible emissions (lower panel) based on simulations from five different Earth system models (Jones et al., 2013). The high emission scenario (RCP8.5) corresponds to emissions that are more than double those today by the end of the century, whereas the low emission scenario (consistent with temperature stabilization below 2°C) requires emissions to be rapidly reduced to near zero, or even negative, levels well before the end of the century. Note that the IAM scenario curves indicate the emissions obtained from the integrated assessment models that provide the RCP concentrations (see Figure 3.1).

Source

Jones et al., 2013.