Why net zero GHG emissions by mid-century is an achievable goal and we shouldn’t give up

Climate science demands that the planet gets to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to avoid over 2 degrees C of global warming. The Conference of Parties negotiations at the UN still maintain that global warming can be limited to 1.5°C, but that is a fantasy considering that 2023 is now expected to be 1.40°C over the historical average between 1850 and 1900. James Hansen now says that 2°C of global warming is inevitable and 3°C is likely, and I trust his math far more than the IPCC AR6 report, which was edited for political considerations and the need for scientific consensus.

Even at current agricultural production levels, we are going to have trouble feeding the expected global population of 12 billion by 2050. Production of the principal caloric crops (wheat, rice, corn and soybeans) is expected to drop significantly over 2°C of warming and collapse over 4°C, so we are looking at a very dire future with widespread famine and the breakdown of global trade when the principal grain producers (US, Russia, Brazil, Argentina, Ukraine, etc.) start restricting exports in order to feed their own populations.