WORLD CARBON DIOXIDE LEVELS HIGHEST FOR 650,000 YEARS
Joanie May 15th, 2008
WORLD CARBON DIOXIDE LEVELS HIGHEST FOR 650,000 YEARS, SAYS US REPORT
By David Adam
The Guardian
May 13 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/13/carbonemissions.climatecha
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The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has reached a record
high, according to the latest figures, renewing fears that climate change
could begin to slide out of control.
Scientists at the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii say that CO2 levels in the
atmosphere now stand at 387 parts per million (ppm), up almost 40% since the
industrial revolution and the highest for at least the last 650,000 years.
The figures, published by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration on its website, also confirm that carbon dioxide, the chief
greenhouse gas, is accumulating in the atmosphere faster than expected. The
annual mean growth rate for 2007 was 2.14ppm — the fourth year in the last
six to see an annual rise greater than 2ppm. From 1970 to 2000, the
concentration rose by about 1.5ppm each year, but since 2000 the annual rise
has leapt to an average 2.1ppm.
Scientists say the shift could indicate that the Earth is losing its natural
ability to soak up billions of tonnes of CO2 each year. Climate models
assume that about half our future emissions will be reabsorbed by forests
and oceans, but the new figures confirm this may be too optimistic. If more
of our carbon pollution stays in the atmosphere, it means emissions will
have to be cut by more than is currently projected to prevent dangerous
levels of global warming.
Martin Parry, co-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s
working group on impacts, said: “Despite all the talk, the situation is
getting worse. Levels of greenhouse gases continue to rise in the atmosphere
and the rate of that rise is accelerating. We are already seeing the impacts
of climate change and the scale of those impacts will also accelerate, until
we decide to do something about it.”
Perched some 11,000ft up a volcano, the Mauna Loa observatory has been
measuring carbon dioxide in the atmosphere since 1958. It is regarded as
producing among the most reliable data sets because of its remote location,
far from any possible source of the gas that could confuse the sensors.
Over the decades, the Mauna Loa readings, made famous in Al Gore’s
documentary An Inconvenient Truth, show the CO2 level rising and falling
each year as foliage across the northern hemisphere blooms in spring and
recedes in autumn. But they also show an upward trend as human emissions
pour into the atmosphere, and each spring, the total CO2 level creeps above
the previous year’s high to set a new record.
Robin Oakley, head of Greenpeace’s climate change campaign, said: “We’re now
witnessing a key moment in the climate change story, and it’s not good news.
The last time the atmosphere was this choked with CO2 humans were yet to
evolve as a species. To even consider building new runways and coal-fired
power stations at this juncture in history is an unpardonable folly, but
Gordon Brown seems determined to stumble forward regardless with his
ill-conceived plans in the face of the science and widespread public
opposition.”
A study last year suggested that the recent surge in atmospheric CO2 levels
was down to three processes: growth in the world economy, heavy use of coal
in China, and a weakening of natural “sinks”, forests, seas and soils that
absorb carbon. The scientists said the increase was 35% larger than they
expected.
They said about half of the carbon surge was down to the Chinese reliance on
coal, which has forced up the carbon intensity of the overall world economy
since 2000, reversing a trend of increasing energy efficiency since the
1970s.
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