350 ppm

The safe upper limit for atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (CO₂) is 350 parts per million. The current level is 390 ppm, which is way too high. This dangerous level leads to ice melting, climate disruption and ocean acidification. Scientists are urging decision makers to act and bring the level down to 350 ppm.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that, by 2100, the concentration will be more than 1000 ppm: this implies a rise of in average temperature of 5°C, an average rise of 1 – 2 m in sea level, half of all species extinct (sadly not humanity … not yet), and dead zones in oceans where the acidity and temperature will be too high to sustain life. The latest science predicts that the effects of the increase of CO₂ level are irreversible for at least 1000 years.

The real difficulty facing progressive lobbies is to convince silly Republicans of the dangers of the high CO₂ concentration. Powerful conservative lobbies are fighting to maintain fossil fuel consumption and inducing fear within the population of developed countries. These dark forces make the population believe that scientists are lying about climate change. Right now, some idiots think that money spent on mitigating climate change is a waste, and that this money should be diverted to space exploration.

Another serious issue is that bringing the CO₂ level back to 350 ppm implies reducing fossil fuel dependence more quickly than governments and corporations have been planning. This can lead to sharp increases in air tickets, electricity and gas bills, metal processing … thereby increasing inflation and harshly hitting the pockets of voters. Not many politicians are willing to face angry voters with low purchasing power.

Yet, we have to act! Humanity is given a chance to speed up the CO₂ reduction process in December 2009 in Copenhagen, when the world’s leaders will meet to ratify a new climate treaty. Sadly, they are not planning to do enough right now. We will all certainly face serious blame from future generations for our current inaction.