Why a 2°C target for Paris?

You’re likely to hear the term 2°C a lot during the next two weeks as world leaders, scientists and policymakers meet in Paris in one of the most important climate change conferences in years.

They seek to come to a binding agreement that keeps the planet from warming 2 degrees Celsius from pre-Industrial temperatures.

But why that target? And what happens if we go past it? Climate Central’s chief meteorologist, Bernadette Woods Placky, has the answers.