WHAT would happen if in 50 years' time the world suddenly
stopped burning fossil fuels? Surprisingly little as far as the
climate is concerned. Of course, it's not actually possible to
halt CO2 emissions overnight, but envisaging such a scenario
helped Susan Solomon of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder,
Colorado, get a better grip on our climate's future. In her
model, CO2 concentrations were double pre-industrial levels –
which could easily happen by mid-century – when emissions were
stopped. The team found that while levels would fall as the
oceans absorb CO2, the overall change would be slow. By 2200,
only a quarter of the CO2 in the atmosphere would have dissolved
into the oceans. Then air and sea CO2 concentrations would reach
equilibrium, preventing further significant quantities of CO2
being mopped up by the ocean. Even by the year 3000, ... To
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