What's 350 about anyway?

350 parts per million (ppm) is, according to leading climate scientists, the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. From the beginning of human history until the Industrial Revolution, global atmospheric carbon dioxide did not exceed about 280ppm.

Now, after three centuries of burning coal, oil, and gas, we're at 390ppm – that’s above any levels we’ve seen in recorded history.

Accelerating arctic warming and other early climate impacts (such as extreme weather) have led scientists to conclude that this is above the safe zone. And, unless we are able to rapidly return to below 350 ppm this century, we risk reaching tipping points and irreversible impacts such as the melting of the Greenland ice sheet and major methane releases from increased permafrost melt.

The 350 campaign is focused on making the connections between our actions and climate change easier to understand so we can turn this around.

Read more on the science behind 350 here.