Professor Richard Tuckett, Professor of Chemical Physics, University of Birmingham, discusses evidence surrounding the connection between CO2 concentrations and the temperature of the planet, to  coincide with the start of United Nations COP21 in Paris, December 2015. 

The evidence that anthropogenic carbon emissions are contributing to the increasing temperature of the Earth grows stronger by the year. Whilst impossible to prove, it is suggested that the correlation between CO2 concentrations and the temperature of the planet is as strong as it ever can be. Therefore, actions both by individuals and governments around the world are needed now to protect everyone against the rising temperatures that are almost inevitable. CH4 could prove to be as serious a secondary greenhouse gas as CO2. Possible changes in legislation and adaptions to lifestyle are suggested for the UK. At a global level and in the hope that such subjects are brought into the open, charging for excess use of carbon, food and its production, and levels of population in the world are discussed.

Professor Tuckett’s essay can be read in full online here