All that was missing was the official confirmation. And it arrived right on cue, just a few weeks before Cop23, which will be held in Bonn. The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere reached the record value of 403.3 ppm in 2016, 145 per cent above pre-industrial levels. This is what the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) states in its latest Greenhouse Gas Bulletin.

The last time the planet experienced an era with these levels of greenhouse gases, the global average temperature was 2–3 degrees Celsius higher, and sea levels were 10–20 metres higher. "Without a rapid reduction in CO2 and other greenhouse gas concentrations, we will be heading towards dangerous temperature increases by the end of this century, well above the targets agreed under the Paris Agreement," commented WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. "Future generations will inherit a less habitable planet."

A 2.5% increase in CO2 concentration in two years

In the two-year period 2015–2016 alone, CO2 concentration increased by 2.5 per cent, partly due to the effect of the tropical current El Niño, as recently confirmed by NOAA as well. "CO2 remains in the atmosphere for hundreds of years and in the oceans for even longer," said Taalas. "The laws of physics tell us that we will have a warmer climate and more extreme events in the future, and there is currently no magic wand to remove CO2 from the atmosphere."

Indeed, scientists and researchers explain that, even if we were to stop emitting carbon dioxide, methane and nitrogen dioxide into the atmosphere immediately, it would take hundreds of years for the levels reached today to return to "safe" parameters. That is, to levels that would allow us to preserve the ecosystems and natural cycles as we know them today, which have allowed the human species to grow and prosper.

Atmospheric levels of CO2 surged at record speed in 2016, says @WMO https://t.co/omoD2QIwQa This is why it matters pic.twitter.com/Ujm9TNbuv8

— UN Climate Change (@UNFCCC) 30 ottobre 2017

It's not just CO2

While carbon dioxide has risen from 280 ppm (in 1750) to the current 403.3 ppm, the values of the other two greenhouse gases are cause for equal concern. CH4 (methane) also reached a record in 2016, at 1,853 ppb (parts per billion), a concentration 257 per cent above pre-industrial levels. Intensive livestock farming and agriculture, the use of fossil fuels, but also natural sources such as wetlands, have contributed to an exponential increase over 250 years.

The curve for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is also pointing mercilessly towards excessively high levels: 122 per cent above pre-industrial levels, at a value of 328.9 ppb. NO2 contributes to the thinning of the ozone layer — the layer that protects us from ultraviolet radiation.

"The numbers don't lie, we are still emitting too much," declared Erik Solheim, the United Nations' head of environment. "Recent years have seen enormous growth in renewables, but we must now redouble our efforts to ensure that new low-carbon technologies are able to thrive. We already have many of the solutions to tackle this challenge. What is needed now is global political will and a new sense of urgency." Time is running out. And this concerns all of us, without exception.