RCP
Science & Engineering abbreviation · Environmental
| Stands for | Representative Concentration Pathway |
|---|---|
| Categories | Science & Engineering |
RCP stands for Representative Concentration Pathway, an environmental abbreviation.
Set of greenhouse gas concentration scenarios used in the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report (2014), each named for the extra radiative forcing in watts per square meter reached by 2100: RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6.0 and RCP8.5. Climate models used them to project possible futures.
Example: Under RCP8.5, the model projects about 4 °C of warming by 2100.
Usage notes
RCP8.5 was often described as "business as usual," a label many scientists now consider misleading because current policies point to lower emissions. The pathways were later paired with socioeconomic narratives in the SSP framework used in the Sixth Assessment Report.
Related abbreviations
More environmental abbreviations
- NEPA – National Environmental Policy Act
- NOx – Nitrogen oxides
- NPDES – National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
- ODS – Ozone-depleting substance
- PM10 – Particulate matter 10 micrometers or smaller
- PM2.5 – Particulate matter 2.5 micrometers or smaller
- RCRA – Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
- REDD+ – Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation
- SBTi – Science Based Targets initiative
- SDG – Sustainable Development Goal
- SLCP – Short-lived climate pollutant
- SOx – Sulfur oxides