atmospheric concentration is the stock associated with the accumulation
of the past actual net flows of GHG emissions.
In the mid-1800s, before the Industrial Revolution began, current
estimates suggest that the concentration of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere was roughly 280 parts per million (ppm) of. But as the
Industrial Revolution progressed, the burning of coal to operate steam
engines and generate electricity became widespread. Later the burning of
petroleum-based fuels was developed to fuel automobiles, diesel
locomotives, ships, and airplanes. As the world’s emissions of GHGs rose
above Earth’s absorptive capacity, the gases began to accumulate in the
atmosphere. Today, a century and a half later, the atmospheric
concentration of greenhouse gases has increased by over 40 percent to
about 400 ppm of.
The Effect on Global Climate
Why is the growing atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases a
problem? The accumulation of GHGs in the atmosphere acts like the
walls and roof of a greenhouse to hold in the infrared radiation from
Earth, thus raising Earth’s average temperature. If the atmospheric
concentration increases to a level of 550 ppm of , Earth’s average
temperature is predicted to rise above its pre-industrial level by 1.5 to
Even such an apparently modest increase in temperature is
predicted to have potentially devastating effects, including:
CO 2 eCO 2 eCO 2 e4.5°C.