CO2 in Atmosphere Rises at Record-breaking Speed in 2016

CO2 Concentration Hits Level Not Seen For More Than Three Million Years

Concentrations of carbon dioxide, a heat-trapping gas, surged at record-breaking speed in 2016, according to a report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

The Geneva-based organization reported that globally averaged concentrations of CO2 reached 403.3 parts per million in 2016, up from 400.00 ppm in 2015. This is the highest CO2 concentration in the atmosphere in 800,000 years, they say.

The report also said that the last time Earth experienced similar CO2 concentration rates was three to five million years ago, when the sea level was up to 20 metres (66 feet) higher than now.

The report was based on the annual Greenhouse Gas bulletin compiled by the World Meteorological Organization.

To put things in perspective, this is a rise of 0.825%, and CO2 is 0.04% of the atmosphere. Readers should also understand that historically, as now, CO2 does not rise ahead of temperature increases. CO2 increases lag behind rises in temperature. This means that CO2 is probably not causing any warming effect, even though mainstream media, governments, the UN and some scientists want you to believe it is a poison which must be removed.

UN Calls For Firmer Political Will and Sense of Urgency

The report cited there are two factors why carbon dioxide levels increased so swiftly. The culprits are a combination of “human activities” and “a strong El Niño event.” However, WMO asserted the need to reverse the number before it is too late. The report urged policymakers to step up countermeasures to cut the risk of global warming exceeding the Paris climate target of between 1.5C and 2C.

WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas, said, “Without rapid cuts in CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions, we will be heading for dangerous temperature increases by the end of this century, well above the target set by the Paris climate change agreement.

If the global community fail to make concrete actions, Talaas added, “Future generations will inherit a much more inhospitable planet.”

Erik Solheim, head of the UN Environment Programme, commented on the WMO report and highlighted that political will is crucial to discuss reduction measures on the surging concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Solheim said, “The last few years have seen enormous uptake of renewable energy, but we must now redouble our efforts to ensure these new low-carbon technologies are able to thrive. We have many of the solutions already to address this challenge. What we need now is global political will and a new sense of urgency.”

Climate Skeptics Do Not Agree

Climate models, hundreds of them, are all notoriously wrong. Every one of the 114 UN IPCC climate models exaggerates predictions. Over the past 15 years, the average of all the models predicted an increase of 0.8 Degrees F. The observed increase was 0.09 deg F. The models are out of line by a factor of 10.

Even though the models are clearly wrong, and more scientists disagree that there is a “consensus,” the media and some scientists persist in ignoring reality.

It is true that some sea levels are rising, but it is equally true that some sea levels are falling. By now, according to past predictions, the Tuvalu islands should be largely under water. They are not.

CO2 is not poison, in fact, it is one of three essential things that sustains plant life. Without CO2, photosynthesis would stop. Even if it declined to the pre-industrial level of 280 ppm, millions of people would probably starve due to insufficient production.

Patrick Moore, Greenpeace founder is now skeptical of anthropogenic climate change. Moore says, “It is correct, verging on the compulsory, in the scientific tradition, to be skeptical of those who express certainty that the science is settled and the debate is over.”

Moore is known as “the sensible environmentalist.”

Talking about CO2, Moore said, in 2015, .” .. there is certainty beyond a reasonable doubt, that CO2 is the building block for all life on earth, and that without its presence in the global atmosphere, at sufficient concentration, this would be a dead planet.”

Mina Fabulous
Mina Fabulous follows the news, especially what is going on in the US State Department. Mina turns State Department waffle into plain English. Mina Fabulous is the pen name of Carmen Avalino, the NewsBlaze production editor. When she isn't preparing stories for NewsBlaze writers, she writes stories, but to separate her editing and writing identities, she uses the name given by her family and friends.