Worst‑case climate scenario retired

UN scientists and climate modelers are publicly downgrading the plausibility of the extreme RCP8.5 pathway, effectively removing it as a default benchmark. That technical change undermines many alarmist headlines and fundraising claims built on RCP8.5 but does not change that serious warming remains likely under other realistic scenarios. — This shifts how media, activists, and policymakers should frame climate risk and prioritise responses—moving debate from theatrical worst‑case horror toward calibrated mitigation and adaptation choices.