Summary/Abstract
The Paris Agreement is an international climate treaty which aims to limit anthropogenic warming to 2º C above pre-industrial levels, with an aspirational goal of 1.5º C. With these goals in mind, this study attempts to understand the difference in impacts under these two scenarios, especially the extent to which their impacts will disproportionately affect developing and least developed countries. The study examines four extreme climate impacts: extreme hot days, heavy rainfall, high stream flow, and labor capacity reduction related to heat stress. The study finds that limiting warming to 1.5º C lowers the risk of all four impacts. The most severe impacts are also found to correlate to regions with small emissions per capita (low responsibility for climate change), low income per capita (low capability to adapt), and high vulnerability. The results of the study therefore indicate that reducing the magnitude of anthropogenic warming not only mitigates harmful impacts but also reduces the inequality of their effects on vulnerable communities.