We need to get rid of carbon in the atmosphere, not just reduce emissions

Getting climate change under control is a formidable, multifaceted challenge. Analysis by my colleagues and me suggests that staying within safe warming levels now requires removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Humans have burned 420 billion tonnes of carbon
 since the start of the industrial revolution.
Half of it is still in the atmosphere.

The technology to do this is in its infancy and will take years, even decades, to develop, but our analysis suggests that this must be a priority. If pushed, operational large-scale systems should be available by 2050.

We created a simple climate model and looked at the implications of different levels of carbon in the ocean and the atmosphere. This lets us make projections about greenhouse warming, and see what we need to do to limit global warming to within 1.5℃ of pre-industrial temperatures – one of the ambitions of the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

To put the problem in perspective, here are some of the key numbers.

Read the piece on The Conversation by the Professor of Ocean and Climate Change from Australian National University, Eelco Rohling  - “We need to get rid of carbon in the atmosphere, not just reduce emissions.”