Will we cause irreparable damage to the planet if we don't reduce carbon emissions in half by 2030?

Michael (Yes)

Climate is a complicated system, but certain attributes of that system are undeniable and straightforward. One of the simplest is the role of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases play in modulating our weather. By trapping energy we receive from the Sun in our atmosphere, CO2 causes the Earth to warm. 

Another measurable fact is how the CO2 level in the atmosphere is about 412ppm at the time of this writing, which is nearly double the concentration that has existed since the Earth was formed. Consequently, the mean global temperature is higher than it has been in tens of thousands of years. Both numbers are continuing to rise, and what's worse is how climate scientists believe that even if we halted all emissions, the change is irreversible. The warming we've caused thus far could not be changed in any way for millennia.

While we can't reverse what we've done, the Paris Climate Agreement stipulates that we cut our emissions in half by 2030 to avoid the worst; events we know global warming has caused in our planet's history. Events like mass extinctions, or the collapse of Antarctic ice sheets, which will bring approximately 12 feet of sea-level rise. New York? Paris? Shanghai? Bye-bye. 

Yes. If we don't cut our emissions in half by 2030 as laid out in the Paris Climate Agreement, we will be guaranteeing our children will only know Earth as it is today in the history books of tomorrow. 

Mandy (No)

Earth has always undergone climate change with or without human intervention, and it's not the threat-level politicians, panic-stricken activists, and journalists purport. Consider these facts, which contradict mainstream reports: Human activity isn't the sole cause of climate change. CO2 isn't the only factor or even harmful to the Earth. Higher temperatures precede rising CO2 levels. Sea levels have risen steadily for thousands of years. Wildfires were worse during the 1930s. Records show climate has historically fluctuated between 4 Celsius and -6 Celsius. The Earth already underwent three extreme environments (dinosaur extinction, the Ice Age, and the 'Little Ice Age' from 1300-1800), which all predate the Industrial Revolution. And geology indicates we are still emerging from the last interglacial period, so warming is continually expected.

Additionally, there's no consensus that human-made global warming is spiraling us toward catastrophe, or that we've detrimentally impacted the environment. Climate models are reliably flawed as atmospheric water vapor is nearly impossible to predict, and corruption has widely misconstrued climate data. 'Climategate' of 2009 and 2011 revealed corruption amongst the UN scientific community as they manipulated data to fit their predetermined climate models. 

Just like the 'problem' climate legislation claims it's trying to solve, it's full of exaggerations and outright lies, such as suggesting the US has 'historically been responsible for a disproportionate amount of greenhouse gas emissions.” Wrong. Developing countries have. China produces the most pollutants of the Earth's atmosphere. Though we should aim to refine our energy industries, drastically reducing carbon emissions is a harmful solution to a non-problem.