Levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have reached their highest point since records began, according to the latest tests taken by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at its observatory in Hawaii.
Carbon emissions are now currently at their highest point since records began. Credit: Pexabay / Pexels (CC01)
Scientists from both the NOAA and Scripps Institution for Oceanography at the University of San Diego, California revealed levels for May peaked at just short of 420 parts per million (ppm), the highest level since they began taking measurements in 1958 despite the effects the pandemic had on global carbon levels.
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The coronavirus pandemic actively reduced global consumption as industry ground to a halt and fewer people commuted to work or travelled casually.
The various lockdowns reduced overall carbon emissions, but not by nearly as much as was expected.
Emissions levels fell by 6.4% for 2020. This level is significant but fell short of the reductions predicted by many climate scientists.
While the year-to-year increase of CO2 levels was 1.8 ppm in the May CO2 peak, seeing a reduction from the years prior, levels taken during the first five months of 2021 saw an average 2.3 ppm increase when compared to the same period last year.
The metric used to measure CO2 levels is referred to as the "Keeling scale," named after the first scientist to begin taking measurements at the facility, Charles David Keeling.
The facility is currently perched on top of the Mauna Loa volcano, which forms an integral part of the island of Hawaii.
It stands as a benchmark for modern measurements of atmospheric carbon levels.
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Pieter Tans, a senior scientist with NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory, noted that CO2 is by far the most abundant human-caused greenhouse gas, and persists in the atmosphere and oceans for thousands of years after it is emitted.
He estimates humans pump roughly 40 billion metric tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year.
He added: “That is a mountain of carbon that we dig up out of the Earth, burn, and release into the atmosphere as CO2 - year after year. If we want to avoid catastrophic climate change, the highest priority must be to reduce CO2 pollution to zero at the earliest possible date.”
Atmospheric carbon levels are now comparable to what they were 4 million years ago during the so-called "Pliocene Climatic Optimum" - a period of intense global warming, also known as an "interglacial period" - where sea levels averaged 73 metres higher than they do today.
This could mean a bad sign for the polar ice caps, of which greenhouse emissions hasten the melting process, leading to a rise in sea levels and excess freshwater entering the world's ocean, which could lead to a disruption of the ocean currents that control the weather for much of the globe.
Global temperatures during the Pliocene Optimum averaged 7°F higher than pre-industrial times.
Tans concluded: "The solution is right before our eyes. Solar energy and wind are already cheaper than fossil fuels and they work at the scales that are required. If we take real action soon, we might still be able to avoid catastrophic climate change.”
Possible avenues to tackling the issue include an increase in carbon capture technology, either through traditional means, such as planting forests or investing in new technologies to sequester excess carbon released into the atmosphere.
These technologies are considered essential in the journey towards net-zero as more global leaders look to set themselves climate goals as part of their pandemic recovery schemes.
However, some climate goals are not as ambitious as others, with many leaving enough room to take very little action regarding their carbon footprints.
Royal Dutch Shell was recently forced to increase its carbon emissions targets by a Dutch court following a landmark case brought by climate activist group Friends of the Earth.
Read more: Shell must cut emissions by 45% by 2030, Netherlands court rules
This has left room open for legal intervention for other key energy players whose climate goals are not ambitious enough to meet the global net-zero requirements.
It also marks the first time a court has imposed stricter carbon emissions.
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