"When scientists try to model how hot Earth could get this century, they typically look at a range of possibilities..." (opens in new tab)

"... for how much planet-warming pollution humans might pump into the atmosphere. These scenarios get updated every seven years or so. In this latest update, the researchers abandoned a dire — and often criticized — high-emissions scenario known as RCP8.5 that has been prominently cited in thousands of climate studies over the past decade. The authors said the scenario was now 'implausible' given recent energy trends.... For years, critics of the high-emissions scenario had argued that it was...