Fires, Floods, Snow extremes

Growing global CO2 emissions a huge cause for concern, say CU scientists

New calculations showing the global output of heat-trapping carbon dioxide gases jumped by the largest amount on record in 2010 is more evidence that society has made a choice to continue to accelerate climate change, say two University of Colorado Boulder experts.

The new figures calculated by the U.S. Department of Energy show the world pumped more than 560 additional tons of carbon into the atmosphere in 2010 than in 2009, an increase of 6 percent.  There are currently 392 parts per million of CO2 in Earth’s atmosphere, a rise of more than 100 since the Industrial Revolution, said CU-Boulder Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research Director Jim White.

The CO2 rise is driven primarily by growing industry in China and India — the two highest users of coal — as well as the United States, said White. “While the world population growth has slowed, the use of fossil fuels continues at a record pace,” he said. Studies have shown Earth’s land temperatures have increased by 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit since the 1950s.

“While it is good news that the global economy continues to grow, we clearly have not taken greenhouse gases and climate change seriously,” said White, an expert on ice cores and climate change. Only a substantial and rapid global move toward alternative energies can slow the growth of CO2 emissions, he said.

“We are rolling the dice here, which is not a good way to plan for the future,” said geography Professor Mark Serreze, director of CU-Boulder’s National Snow and Ice Data Center and an expert on declining Arctic sea ice.

“The warning signs of climate change are all around us, and we have decided to ignore them,” said Serreze. “Humankind has made a choice to do nothing, and we can never go back to where we were again. As a consequence, we will have to adapt to change.”

For more information contact White at 303-492-2219 or james.white@colorado.edu, Serreze at 303-492 -2963 or serreze@kryos.colorado.edu or Jim Scott in the CU-Boulder media relations and news office at 303-492-3114.