FILE ON WILLIAM NORDHAUSPerson

William Nordhaus

the 2°C target originated in a tangential 1975 remark by economist William Nordhaus1.

2 SOURCES · 1 DOCUMENTED FACT · 3 DISPUTED · OPENED 2026-07-25 · UPDATED 2026-07-25
On the record see profile →

the 2°C target originated in a tangential 1975 remark by economist William Nordhaus

CANOPTICON Second-Pass Stress-Test: The Net-Zero / Carbon-Fi
“The 2°C target originated in a tangential 1975 remark by economist William Nordhaus”
VERIFIED — a word-for-word match in the stored source
Disputed — who says what, against what see standalone →

These are things people say about William Nordhaus that aren't settled fact — each one attributed to who's actually claiming it, so a claim never quietly passes as established just because it showed up in a document. Weigh it yourself.

Disputed
"the target is treated as a scientific result by policymakers and as a political issue by scientists"
Asserted by Ted Nordhaus · stance: neutral
Not yet independently weighed — one source's claim, unconfirmed elsewhere.
CANOPTICON Second-Pass Stress-Test: The Net-Zero / Carbon-Fi ↗
Disputed
"the logical leap from "CO₂ correlates with warming" to "net-zero by 2050 via carbon markets" has a documentable inflection point that is political, not scientific"
Unattributed assertion · stance: critical
Not yet independently weighed — one source's claim, unconfirmed elsewhere.
CANOPTICON Second-Pass Stress-Test: The Net-Zero / Carbon-Fi ↗
Disputed
"the 2°C goal emerged nearly by chance"
Asserted by Ted Nordhaus · stance: neutral
Not yet independently weighed — one source's claim, unconfirmed elsewhere.
CANOPTICON Second-Pass Stress-Test: The Net-Zero / Carbon-Fi ↗
1996
1996
set 2°C goal
2020
2020
interview with Neue Zürcher Zeitung