A recent report has found that levels of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are at an all-time high, increasing concerns about climate change.

“In 2018, the dominant greenhouse gases released into Earth’s atmosphere continued to increase and reach new record highs”

A few days ago, the American Meteorological Society released a new report that contained a raft of dire warnings about the Earth’s atmosphere and its effect on worsening climate change. The State of the Climate study found that the dominant greenhouse gases released into the Earth’s atmosphere reached record levels in 2018, with their global warming power now 43% stronger than 1990.
Those facts alone should be enough to give you sleepless nights, but the report goes on to state that sea levels rose to record heights for a seventh consecutive year, with glaciers continuing to melt at a concerning rate for the 30th year in a row. Regarding temperatures, 2018 was the fourth-warmest year on record, with the other three being 2017, 2016 and 2015.
When it comes to the urgency of climate change action, the facts don’t get much more conclusive.

Global outlook
The AMS report was compiled from data collected from more than 475 scientists in 57 countries, so provides a highly accurate overview of the climate crisis the world is currently in, with the report finding that “the major indicators of climate change continued to reflect trends consistent with a warming planet”.
“Every year since the start of the 21st Century has been warmer than the 1981-2010 average,” the report continued. “In 2018, the dominant greenhouse gases released into Earth's atmosphere – carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide – continued to increase and reach new record highs.”

Glimpse of the future
At the moment, there aren’t many weeks that go by without the release of a key report into the effects of climate change. A recent paper by the Australian Breakthrough National Centre for Climate Restoration modelled a series of future scenarios based on existing research into climate change, and painted a grim picture in which more than a billion people are displaced, food production sharply falls, and some of the world's most populated cities are left abandoned.
“After nuclear war, human-induced global warming is the greatest threat to
human life on the planet,” says Admiral Chris Barrie, member of the Global Military Advisory Council on Climate Change, in the introduction.
There’s also the report earlier this year from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), which stated that one million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction. This tallies with the increasing amount of species on the IUCN Red List, the world’s most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species, which currently lists 25% of mammals, 40% of amphibians and 14% of birds as being threatened with extinction.

Carbon Balanced Paper
Of course, it’s no secret that climate change is causing critical damage to the Earth, its environment and the species that inhabit it. But these reports make it increasingly difficult for governments, businesses and people to ignore. As the research into climate change continues, as does the work of the many NGOs and charities striving to protect the planet’s wildlife and their natural habitats, which not only provide them with places to live but take harmful carbon out of the atmosphere.
Backed by environmental experts including Sir David Attenborough, World Land Trust protects the world’s most biologically significant habitats by funding the creation of reserves to provide permanent protection for habitats and wildlife.

Working alongside World Land Trust is Carbon Balanced Paper, a scheme that enables brands and organisations to balance the carbon impact of their printed communications. By using Carbon Balanced Paper and its range of certified printers, you can not only reduce your carbon emissions but generate funds that will help World Land Trust save the world’s most endangered habitats.
On your own you can’t solve the world’s climate change problem, but Carbon Balanced Paper gives you the opportunity to make a start.

• For more information on Carbon Balanced Paper, visit  www.carbonbalancedpaper.com or email info@carbonbalancedpaper.com

• For more information on World Land Trust, go to www.worldlandtrust.org

Article written by Sam Upton