Abstract/Summary

Climate targets have become prominent in the media and public debate recently, largely as a result of pressure exerted by groups such as Extinction Rebellion, who have advocated a target of net zero emissions of greenhouse gases by as early as 2025. The current article aims to draw some of the heat out of that debate and to shed some light on the issues raised by climate targets, including their level of ambition. It does so by developing a taxonomy of climate targets – setting out the choices confronting those designing national responses – and then examining those choices through a normative, values framework. Given the threat posed by climate change to humans and the ecosystems of which they are a part, it is important that climate targets are optimally constructed. The taxonomic and values framework laid out in the current article is designed to help with this.