Wednesday 15 May 2013 @ 09:20
WiredGov Newswire (news from other organisations)
WiredGov Newswire (news from other organisations)
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WWF - Levels of climate changing gases reach 400ppm
Data from stations monitoring concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere have indicated that the world has reached 400 parts per million (ppm) of the climate-changing gas for the first time in human history 1.
Responding to the news, David Nussbaum, chief executive of WWF-UK, said: “The milestone we’ve just reached is a reminder that we are heading in the wrong direction in terms of dealing with climate change. It challenges us all to come to terms with the fact that fossil fuels need to stay in the ground and that, instead, we need to switch to renewable alternatives if we want to avoid dangerous climate change in the future.”
WWF is calling for the global climate deal, to be concluded at the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) to the UN Climate Convention in Paris in 2015, to reflect the best available science as represented by the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report, which will be coming out later this year.
David Nussbaum continued: “There is limited time for governments to achieve the goal they have set themselves for agreeing a global deal that effectively tackles climate change. Our political leaders have it in their power to address their chronic failure to agree a deal that reflects what is scientifically necessary to reverse the rise in greenhouse gases in our atmosphere.”
A recent report by Carbon Tracker and LSE 2 showed that between 60-80% of coal, oil and gas reserves of publicly listed companies need to be considered ‘unburnable’ if the world is to have a chance of not exceeding global warming of 2°C. WWF-UK calls on the UK government to show national and global leadership in the urgent transition away from fossil fuels to a sustainable low-carbon economy.
Notes to editors:
1. Readings from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, recorded by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, showed that concentrations of atmospheric CO2 reached 400ppm this week; the last time they were this high was between three and five million years ago (the Pliocene era). More information: the Keeling Curve http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/ and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/weekly.html
2. Carbon Tracker/LSE Grantham Research Institute: Unburnable carbon 2013: Wasted capital and stranded assets http://www.carbontracker.org/wastedcapital
For more information:
George Smeeton, Media Relations Manager WWF-UK
Tel: 01483 412 388, Mob: 07917 052 948, email: GSmeeton@wwf.org.uk
Responding to the news, David Nussbaum, chief executive of WWF-UK, said: “The milestone we’ve just reached is a reminder that we are heading in the wrong direction in terms of dealing with climate change. It challenges us all to come to terms with the fact that fossil fuels need to stay in the ground and that, instead, we need to switch to renewable alternatives if we want to avoid dangerous climate change in the future.”
WWF is calling for the global climate deal, to be concluded at the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) to the UN Climate Convention in Paris in 2015, to reflect the best available science as represented by the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report, which will be coming out later this year.
David Nussbaum continued: “There is limited time for governments to achieve the goal they have set themselves for agreeing a global deal that effectively tackles climate change. Our political leaders have it in their power to address their chronic failure to agree a deal that reflects what is scientifically necessary to reverse the rise in greenhouse gases in our atmosphere.”
A recent report by Carbon Tracker and LSE 2 showed that between 60-80% of coal, oil and gas reserves of publicly listed companies need to be considered ‘unburnable’ if the world is to have a chance of not exceeding global warming of 2°C. WWF-UK calls on the UK government to show national and global leadership in the urgent transition away from fossil fuels to a sustainable low-carbon economy.
Notes to editors:
1. Readings from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, recorded by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, showed that concentrations of atmospheric CO2 reached 400ppm this week; the last time they were this high was between three and five million years ago (the Pliocene era). More information: the Keeling Curve http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/ and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/weekly.html
2. Carbon Tracker/LSE Grantham Research Institute: Unburnable carbon 2013: Wasted capital and stranded assets http://www.carbontracker.org/wastedcapital
For more information:
George Smeeton, Media Relations Manager WWF-UK
Tel: 01483 412 388, Mob: 07917 052 948, email: GSmeeton@wwf.org.uk
