Climate lag denotes a delay in the climate change prompted by a particular factor. This can occur when the system is influenced by another, sloweracting, factor. For example, when carbon dioxide (CO2) is released into the atmosphere, its full effect may not be recognized immediately, because some of the CO2 may be partially absorbed, and much later released, by the oceans. The considerable amount of lag in geophysical systems can be seen in the delay between actions that increase or decrease climate forcings (changes that affect the energy balance of Earth) and their consequent impacts on the climate. Lag can be accounted for in several ways: Some occurs because of the length of time it takes for certain chemicals to cycle out of the atmosphere, some results from the effects of warming upon natural cycles, and some comes from the slow pace of oceanic temperature change. Many climate scientists estimate climate lag to be between twenty and thirty years; thus, even if all additional carbon emissions were to cease, Earth would still experience two to three decades of warming before the cessation took effect.

If, during a two- to three-decade lag, rising temperatures begin to trigger climate feedback effects--such as a reduction of the polar ice cap, allowing more heat to be absorbed by the dark water, or large emissions of methane from melting permafrost--the lag time could be extended. The longer some kinds of climate disruption are delayed, and the more climate commitment is built up, the more likely it is that feedback effects will be seen. "Climate commitment" refers to the fact that climate reacts with a delay to influencing factors. For example, an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) will influence Earth's climate over time, rather than all at once. There are at least three responses to this situation: prevention, mitigation, and remediation. The potential for dangerous feedback effects drives a prevention response, that is, action that reduces the global warming risk. Since it is not yet known how damaging to the environment feedback effects could be, it seems prudent to do everything possible to start eliminating the anthropogenic sources of GHGs and thereby keep the level of committed warming to a minimum. A mitigation response takes a practical approach: Climate disaster is already imminent, and the best prevention efforts may be too little, too late, but there is still the need to reduce the worst of the threats. A remediation approach would not look at ways to change greenhouse emissions and their consequences; instead, efforts would be made to use geoengineering, that is, to alter the core geophysical processes that relate to global warming.

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