Day one
The first session kicked off with the Grove chairman, Lars Sjunesson introducing Sir David King, scientific adviser to the UK government, a suitably heavyweight speaker to start the conference. He was very clear on the effects of carbon dioxide (anthropogenic or otherwise) in terms of causing significant global warming and climate change.
Looking at carbon dioxide levels over the last 800,000 years, warm periods have seen atmospheric carbon dioxide levels of 260ppm whereas today’s levels are 380ppm, showing an increase from the last ice age 20,000 years ago and an even more dramatic rise since the start of the industrial age.
The good news is that CO2 levels have been this high before. The bad news is that, last time, the levels were 1000ppm, sea levels were 100 m higher (that’s right, 100 metres higher) and it was 50 million years ago. As David King said, Climate change is happening, we must adapt. The UK is aiming to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 60 per cent by 2050, for instance, hopefully showing the way.
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