Articles | Volume 18, issue 17
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-5699-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-5699-2025
Model evaluation paper
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05 Sep 2025
Model evaluation paper | Highlight paper |  | 05 Sep 2025

flat10MIP: an emissions-driven experiment to diagnose the climate response to positive, zero and negative CO2 emissions

Benjamin M. Sanderson, Victor Brovkin, Rosie A. Fisher, David Hohn, Tatiana Ilyina, Chris D. Jones, Torben Koenigk, Charles Koven, Hongmei Li, David M. Lawrence, Peter Lawrence, Spencer Liddicoat, Andrew H. MacDougall, Nadine Mengis, Zebedee Nicholls, Eleanor O'Rourke, Anastasia Romanou, Marit Sandstad, Jörg Schwinger, Roland Séférian, Lori T. Sentman, Isla R. Simpson, Chris Smith, Norman J. Steinert, Abigail L. S. Swann, Jerry Tjiputra, and Tilo Ziehn

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A Comparison of Regional Climate Changes Under Idealized Zero-Emissions and Exceedance-and-Return Experiments
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Cited articles

Allen, M. R., Frame, D. J., Huntingford, C., Jones, C. D., Lowe, J. A., Meinshausen, M., and Meinshausen, N.: Warming caused by cumulative carbon emissions towards the trillionth tonne, Nature, 458, 1163–1166, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08019, 2009. 
Asaadi, A., Schwinger, J., Lee, H., Tjiputra, J., Arora, V., Séférian, R., Liddicoat, S., Hajima, T., Santana-Falcón, Y., and Jones, C. D.: Carbon cycle feedbacks in an idealized simulation and a scenario simulation of negative emissions in CMIP6 Earth system models, Biogeosciences, 21, 411–435, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-411-2024, 2024. 
Avakumović, V.: Carbon budget concept and its deviation through the pulse response lens, Earth Syst. Dynam., 15, 387–404, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-15-387-2024, 2024. 
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Editorial statement
As a core contribution to CMIP7, this paper offers an idealized yet insightful projection of climate system behavior during the net-zero transition. Its policy relevance is clear, as it effectively links human-driven emission mitigation efforts with their climatic consequences.
Short summary
This study investigates how climate models warm in response to simplified carbon emissions trajectories, refining the understanding of climate reversibility and commitment. Metrics are defined for warming response to cumulative emissions and for the cessation of emissions or ramp-down to net-zero and net-negative levels. Results indicate that previous concentration-driven experiments may have overstated the Zero Emissions Commitment due to emissions rates exceeding historical levels.
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