The CSIRO has launched its emissions tracking website which allows public users to see how greenhouse gas emissions have steadily increased over the last 35 years.

 

The CSIRO has launched the site with a mission statement of increasing public awareness of how the climate-warming gasses have increased as a direct result of human activity.

 

“The atmospheric level of carbon dioxide, which is the most important long-lived greenhouse gas influenced by human activities, is at its highest level in more than a million years,” said Dr Paul Fraser from CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research.

 

“It is currently increasing at about 0.5 per cent each year.”

 

The website tracks levels of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane using interactive graphs and graphics. The site also tracks ozone damaging chemicals, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and halons and will update the data monthly as new data becomes available.

 

The data is collected as Cape Grim in Tasmania, where the CSIRO describes as one of the “cleanest air sources in the world”.

 

“The measurements testify to a steady rise in carbon dioxide concentrations in the Earth’s atmosphere, mainly caused by the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation,” said Dr Fraser.

 

“The graphs we’ve made available online will enable people to examine the evidence about the major driver of recent climate change. This is fundamental information in determining the global actions needed to avoid greenhouse gases rising to dangerous levels.”

 

By examining ancient air bubbles trapped in Antarctic ice, scientists are also able to compare how current levels of greenhouse gases compare to levels over the last 1000 years.

 

Carbon dioxide is currently rising at almost 2 parts per million molar (ppm) per year, said Dr Fraser.

 

“Together, these measurements allow us to trace the dramatic rise in carbon dioxide levels from about 280 ppm before the start of the industrial era around the year 1800, to 388 ppm in 2010. That’s an increase of almost 40 per cent, largely due to human activities.”

 

Many climate scientists, including the head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, have said that a safe level of carbon dioxide concentration would be around 350ppm.

 

The website can be found here