(GermanPolicy.com) – Climate researcher Ottmar Edenhofer from the Potsdam Institute has warned that global warming could be far more extreme than previously feared. The emissions increased dramatically from year to year. With higher coal power, one steers to 4 degrees global warming instead of the previously forecast 2.7 degrees. 2.7 degrees could only be achieved if all voluntary commitments were adhered to internationally.

One is in the middle of a coal renaissance, Edenhofer said. “Only a global coal exit can save us from ruin,” he warned. Otherwise the coal-fired power plants alone would use up the entire CO2 budget to achieve the Paris climate target of 1.5 degrees.

The climate researcher praised the efforts of the USA with regard to CO2 neutrality by 2050, of China, which will no longer invest in coal power outside the country, and the European Green Deal, which represents the most ambitious package in the world to date. The three actors – USA, China, and the EU – would have to agree on minimum CO2 prices and include India, Russia and Japan.