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Comment and Earth

Why 2018 is gearing up to be a tipping point for climate action

What will next year hold for global temperatures, carbon dioxide levels, the electric car revolution and Trump's coal dream, wonders Owen Gaffney

By Owen Gaffney

13 December 2017

electric cars in China — China is set to ramp up electric car production
VCG via Getty Images

One climate-related headline you will read in 2018 is a dead cert: carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will reach levels unprecedented in at least 800,000 years. That’s an easy prediction, given emissions are non-zero and this gas stays aloft for centuries.

What is more concerning is the rate of growth of carbon dioxide. It appears to despite the recent dramatic slowing in annual emissions from human activity. The strong El Niño of 2015 and 2016 explains some of this acceleration. That’s because this…

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