We've reached, and passed, our safe atmospheric carbon maxima.

Atmospheric CO2 through the last half million years.

The Paris Agreement [1], signed by 55 countries within the last two weeks and more to come, is designed to ensure countries work to keep carbon emissions at a low level. Scientists for years have stated that in order to keep climate warming to under +1.5°C global average, atmospheric CO2 would need to stay under 400PPM.

This year is the first year those CO2 levels have remained consistently above that number [2], and show no signs of dropping, and even as the signatories of the Paris Agreement congratulate themselves on being climate friendly we have already passed the point of no return. It feels like too little, too late.

The graphic comes from the NOAA, who have been monitoring atmos CO2 at Mauna Loa since 1958 [3].

The original article I read was here: http://motherboard.vice.com/read/goodbye-world-weve-passed-the-carbon-tipping-point-for-good

TL;DR - we're going to hell in a handbasket.

[1] http://www.un.org/press/en/2016/sgsm18104.doc.htm
[2] https://scripps.ucsd.edu/programs/keelingcurve/2016/09/23/note-on-reaching-the-annual-low-point/
[3] http://climate.nasa.gov/climate_resources/24/