Resources for a sustainable future

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For more information click ‘read More’Our climate is changing. The scientific evidence is clear: our planet is getting warmer.¹ Greenhouse gases (GHGs) – including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, and chlorofluorocarbons – are increasing rapidly in our atmosphere.² Human activity such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation is a major source of these gases.³ But since we can’t see them, it’s easy to forget they are there. Out of sight, out of mind. And if we aren’t aware of these “carbon” gases, it’s easy to ignore the urgent need to reduce their emission.

The Carbon Counter displays the running total amount of long-lived greenhouse gasses in the earth’s atmosphere, measured in metric tons. The number of tons can also be expressed as the concentration of GHGs in the atmosphere. Because carbon dioxide (CO₂) is by far the most common of all greenhouse gases and has the greatest total impact on climate, climate change experts frequently just use the word ‘carbon’ as a convenient shorthand to cover all the polluting GHGs in the atmosphere. That is why we refer to the ‘The Carbon Counter’ even though the Number includes much more than just carbon dioxide. 

The red-line graph on the Carbon Counter sign shows how the concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere (in parts per million) is now higher than it has ever been in the last 800,000 years. And it is still rising faster than ever.

Global warming has the potential to cause severe disruptions to our way of life. According to the work of the IPCC, this is likely to include rising sea levels due to thermal expansion of water as the temperature rises and land ice such as the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets melt; droughts in some parts of the world and excessive rain in others which would cause severe water shortages and flooding; and widespread disruption to agriculture.

The planet needs to reduce human emissions dramatically by 2050.  This will show up in GHG concentrations over time, which we will be measuring.  Currently, GHGs in the atmosphere are rising at about 2 billion metric tons per month, which equates to 800 metric tons per second on the sign, on a current base of 3.64 trillion metric tons (467 ppm).

Kevin Parker, Global Head of Deutsche Asset Management, originated the idea of a real-time carbon counter as a way of providing people with a simple explanation of a complex problem. To create the Number, which displays the increase in GHGs every 10th of a second, we collaborated with scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Climate Change. They are leaders in this field of research. For their explanation of the science behind the calculation of the Number, go to ‘The Carbon Counter’.

So what can we do to limit and reduce emissions and slow the increase of the Number down? There are many steps that individuals can take to reduce their own carbon footprint, and this web site helps you find out how. However, to limit emissions across the whole of society - including power generators, transportation, and commercial buildings - we believe it is essential to establish a carbon price. That is, to set a price on the pollution - the so-called ‘externalities’ - caused by burning fossil fuels and by other human activities. This has clear implications for our main fuels: oil, natural gas, and coal. Up until now, we have had a free ride: the price of fossil fuels has not reflected the cost of cleaning up the pollution or coping with the resulting climate change. Only when a price for carbon emissions is established will the true cost of burning oil, gas and coal be reflected in the price we pay for this energy.