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The paper argues that single-year emissions targets are fundamentally flawed compared to continuous multi-year targets because they create uncertainty regarding cumulative emissions, are more susceptible to annual variability, and are incompatible with domestic emissions trading schemes. The authors highlight that the use of tradable units can further reduce the ambition of single-year targets, potentially allowing countries to meet goals without domestic mitigation. They recommend that future international agreements mandate continuous multi-year targets to ensure comparability and align with global carbon budgets.