Global carbon dioxide in atmosphere passes milestone level

Climate warming greenhouse gas reaches 400 parts per million for the first time in human history Damian Carrington | The Guardian | Friday, 10 May 2013 For the first time in human history, the concentration of climate- arming car!on dio"ide in the atmos#here has #assed the milestone le$el of %00 #arts #er million &##m'( The last time so much greenhouse gas as in the air as se$eral million years ago, hen the )rctic as ice-free, sa$annah s#read across the *ahara desert and sea le$el as u# to %0 metres higher than today( These conditions are e"#ected to return in time, ith de$astating conse+uences for ci$ilisation, unless emissions of C,2 from the !urning of coal, gas and oil are ra#idly curtailed( -ut des#ite increasingly se$ere arnings from scientists and a ma.or economic recession, glo!al emissions ha$e continued to soar unchec/ed( 01t is sym!olic, a #oint to #ause and thin/ a!out here e ha$e !een and here e are going,0 said 2rofessor 3al#h 4eeling, ho o$ersees the measurements on a 5a aian $olcano, hich ere !egun !y his father in 1678( 01t9s li/e turning 70: it9s a a/e u# to hat has !een !uilding u# in front of us all along(0 0The #assing of this milestone is a significant reminder of the ra#id rate at hich ; and the e"tent to hich ; e ha$e increased the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmos#here,0 said 2rof 3a.endra 2achauri, chair of the 1ntergo$ernmental 2anel on Climate Change, hich ser$es as science ad$iser to the orld9s go$ernments( 0)t the !eginning of industrialisation the concentration of C,2 as .ust 280##m( <e must ho#e that the orld crossing this milestone ill !ring a!out a areness of the scientific reality of climate change and ho human society should deal ith the challenge(0 The orld9s go$ernments ha$e agreed to /ee# the rise in glo!al a$erage tem#erature, hich ha$e already risen !y o$er 1C, to 2C, the le$el !eyond hich catastro#hic arming is thought to !ecome unsto##a!le( -ut the 1nternational =nergy )gency arned in 2012 that on current emissions trends the orld ill see >C of arming, a le$el scientists arn ould lead to chaos( <ith no slo ing of emissions seen to date, there is already mounting #ressure on the ?@ summit in 2aris in 2017, hich is the deadline set to settle a !inding international treaty to cur! emissions( =d ard Da$ey, the ?49s energy and climate change secretary, said: 0This isn9t .ust a sym!olic milestone, it9s yet another #iece of clear scientific e$idence of the effect human acti$ity is ha$ing on our #lanet( 19$e made clear 1 ill not let u# on efforts to secure the legally !inding deal the orld needs !y 2017 to a$oid the orst effects of climate change(0 T o C,2 monitoring stations high on the 5a aiian $olcano of Mauna Aoa are run !y the ?* @ational ,ceanic and )tmos#heric )dministration and the *cri##s 1nstitution of ,ceanogra#hy and #ro$ide the glo!al !enchmar/ measurement( Data released

on Friday sho s the daily a$erage has #assed %00##m for the first time in its half century of recording( The le$el #ea/s in May each year as the C,2 released !y decaying $egetation is ta/en u# !y rene ed #lant gro th in the northern hemis#here, here the !ul/ of #lants gro ( )nalysis of fossil air tra##ed in ancient ice and other data indicate that this le$el has not !een seen on =arth for 3-7 million years, a #eriod called the 2liocene( )t that time, glo!al a$erage tem#eratures ere 3 or %C higher than today9s and 8C armer at the #oles( 3eef corals suffered a ma.or e"tinction hile forests gre u# to the northern edge of the )rctic ,cean, a region hich is today !are tundra( 01 thin/ it is li/ely that all these ecosystem changes could recur,0 said 3ichard @orris, a colleague of 4eeling9s at *cri##s( The =arth9s climate system ta/es time to ad.ust to the increased heat !eing tra##ed !y high greenhouse le$els and it may ta/e hundreds of years for the great ice ca#s in )ntarctica and Greenland to melt to the small siBe of the 2liocence and sea le$el far a!o$e many of the orld9s ma.or cities( -ut the e"treme s#eed at hich C,2 in no rising ; #erha#s C7 times faster than in #re-industrial time ; has ne$er !een seen in geological records and some effects of climate change are already !eing seen, ith e"treme heat a$es and flooding no more li/ely( 3ecent et and cold summer eather in =uro#e has !een lin/ed to changes in the high le$el .etstream inds, in turn lin/ed to the ra#idly melting sea ice in the )rctic, hich shran/ to its lo est recorded le$el in *e#tem!er( 0<e are creating a #rehistoric climate in hich human societies ill face huge and #otentially catastro#hic ris/s,0 said -o! <ard, #olicy director at the Grantham 3esearch 1nstitute on Climate Change at the Aondon *chool of =conomics( 0,nly !y urgently reducing glo!al emissions ill e !e a!le to a$oid the full conse+uences of turning !ac/ the climate cloc/ !y 3 million years(0 0The %00##m threshold is a so!ering milestone and should ser$e as a a/e u# call for all of us to su##ort clean energy technology and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, !efore it9s too late for our children and grandchildren,0 said Tim Aue/er, a car!on cycle scientist at *cri##s( 2rofessor -o! <atson, former 12CC chair and ?4 go$ernment chief scientific ad$iser, said: 02assing %00##m of car!on dio"ide in the atmos#here is indeed a landmar/ and the rate of increase is faster than e$er and sho s no sign of a!ating due to a lac/ of #olitical committment to address the urgent issue of climate change - the orld is no most li/ely committed to an increase in surface tem#erature of 3C-7C com#ared to #re-industrial times(0 The gra#h of the rising C,2 at Mauna Aoa is /no n as the 4eeling cur$e, after the late Da$e 4eeling, the scientist ho !egan the measurements in March 1678( The isolated 5a aiian island is a good location for measurements as it is far from the main sources of C,2, meaning it re#resents a good glo!al a$erage( htt#:DD (theguardian(comDen$ironmentD2013DmayD10Dcar!on-dio"ide-highestle$el-greenhouse-gas