Importance of non-CO 2 emissions in carbon management.

Background: GHG budgets highlight a need for urgency, yet analyses are often CO₂-focused, with less attention paid to non-CO₂. Results: In this paper, scenarios are used to explore non-CO₂ drivers and barriers to their mitigation, drawing out implications for CO₂ management. Results suggest that even optimistic technological and consumption-related developments lead to on-going increases in global N₂O, largely to improve food security within a changing climate. This contrasts with existing analysis, where lower levels of N₂O by 2050 are projected. Conclusions: As avoiding '2ｰC' limits the emissions budget, constraints on reducing non-CO₂ add pressure to energy system decarbonization. Overlooking how a changing climate and rising consumption restricts efforts to curb non-CO₂ will result in policies aiming to avoid 2ｰC falling short of the mark. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]