Johannes Plenio on Unsplash

Researchers were the first to warn against the increasing CO₂ content in the air already 125 years ago. Later, there was more and more evidence that man's consumption of fossil fuels led to an increase in the temperature of the globe and a fear that the process could run wild. The famous Keeling Curve for CO₂ in the atmosphere shows an increase every year since around 1960.

At that time, the level was approximately 315 ppm, and some researchers feared that things would go completely wrong if it reached 400 ppm. This happened around 2016 and the curve continued to the level we have today of 420 ppm, with a continued increase every year of 1-3 ppm. How serious is it? How important is the green transition and what is needed for our society to respond sufficiently to break the curve? 

Bioethicist Mickey Gjerris from the Faculty of Science at the University of Copenhagen talks to Science Journalist Jens Degett from Science Stories about what is needed and who can save us. It looks bleak, but perhaps a stanza of a poem by Michael Strunge can help inspire us.

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This podcast was produced with support from DM.

More information on the topic:

• The Keeling Curve shows the annual evolution of CO₂ in the atmosphere that has been measured for more than 60 years in Hawaii.