Defining “Science-based Targets”

The term “science-based targets” has gained recent popularity. It is used to refer both to overall science-based targets (established through intergovernmental treaties), and to their disaggregation into specific science-based targets (determining contributions of individual actors). Biophysical achievability, measurability, and underpinning rationale are requirements for considering a target to be “science-based”

Comment on ‘From the Paris Agreement to corporate climate commitments: evaluation of seven methods for setting “science-based” emission targets’

A study from Bjørn et al (2021) suggests that methods to allocate emissions to companies proportionally to their economic growth are consistent with equity-related principles and are effective at conserving a global emissions budget while the science based targets initiative’s (SBTi’s) absolute contraction approach (ACA) fulfills neither qualification. Here we identify four areas of concern with the study and propose a more comprehensive approach to science based targets (SBT) method evaluation. We respond that first, the authors’ method characterization does not differentiate between the emissions allocation that occurs in mitigation scenarios and that which is normatively caused by method formulae, and it misinterprets the drivers of emissions allocation in scenarios. Second, we note that the authors evaluate a method formula for ACA that does not match its use by the SBTi. Third, we acknowledge that allocating emissions based on economic growth can yield incoherent results by comparison to published climate change mitigation scenarios and suggest the authors also evaluate whether methods are effective at conserving sub-global emissions budgets. Fourth, we observe that although the study is framed as an evaluation of SBT methods, it relies almost entirely on assessments of one characteristic. We conclude by proposing a set of principles that should be met by effective SBT methods and a high-level assessment of SBT methods against these principles

The Ideal Multilingual Self : Validity, Influences on Motivation, and Role in a Multilingual Education

L2 motivation research has a longstanding monolingual bias. Recently, however, the motivational systems of a multilingual’s different languages have been conceptualized as constituting a multilingual motivational system, and it has been suggested that interactions between the ideal Lx self and the ideal Ly self can lead to the emergence of an ideal multilingual self. While the notion of an ideal multilingual self chimes with research on multilinguals’ identity experiences, it has not been investigated empirically. The purpose of this study is to establish whether there is empirical support for the proposed ideal multilingual self construct, and whether it influences motivation to learn a second foreign language. A questionnaire containing items measuring the ideal L2 self and the ideal multilingual self was administered to a sample of secondary students (N=324) at two schools in Sweden with international profiles. Using structural equation modeling, analyses yielded discriminant validity for the ideal multilingual self construct, and revealed an indirect influence on intended effort mediated via the ideal L2 self. On the strength of these results, a case is made for future research into people’s motivation to be or become multilingual, and educational interventions focused on developing students’ ideal multilingual selves.     Published online: 11 Dec 2017</p