350 is just a number with no real significance than any other number, unless it holds some relevance in your own personal world. It could be the price you paid for that leather jacket you’ve always wanted, your cherished 350 engine, or for biblical historians, it is the number of years Noah lived after the flood.
On October 24, 2023, 350 was heralded as the most important number in our time, signifying a call for change, a call for politicians to listen, and a call for action now. On this date in 2005, the International Day of Climate Action was established by a devoted group of environmentalists in conjunction with the Global Climate Change campaign. The focus is on the effects individuals and industries are having on global warming.
A call for action
Countries hope to send out a collective message to world leaders. They want environmental action and 350.org is part of that voice. Established in 2008, 350.org is an international movement focused on seeing the end of fossil fuel infrastructure used in industries and being replaced by renewable energy.
Although not an organization but rather a climate activist coalition, 350.org strived to see the International Day of Climate Action serve as an awareness to world leaders to initiate the necessary changes to combat global warming. In conjunction with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which held its first convention in Berlin, Germany in 1995, the UNFCCC hopes to see that greenhouse gasses are eliminated for the sanctity and sustainability of this planet and its inhabitants.
The significance of 350
So, what is the significance of 350?
According to leading scientists, this planet has reached close to 390 ppm (parts per million) of atmospheric CO2 levels contributed by greenhouse gases. These scientists maintain that human activity is conducive for the increased levels. 350 ppm is scientifically considered to be the safe upper limit of CO2 that will curtail runaway climate change.
According to 350.org, it will not be an easy task. Even if we could reach this level today, it will take decades for forests and the world’s oceans to absorb the excess CO2 already present in our atmosphere. This is why the 350.org coalition sees a need to act now. It is a grim reality in parts of the world where climate change is having disastrous effects on peoples’ lives since weather events are much more intense.
Bill McKibben, co-founder and senior advisor of 350.org, is an environmentalist and writer who wants people to understand that 350 marks either success or failure for climate negotiations. He states that “Physics and chemistry have laid their cards on the table. Above 350, the world doesn’t work.”
Melting ice caps are a concern
There are those who believe that climate change is attributable to natural cyclical phenomena, such as sunspots, solar irradiance (the amount of radiant energy emitted by the sun), and the tilt of the earth’s axis whereby there are projected changes that can take place because of climate change. The science behind this is attributed to the melting of the ice caps and the slight changes that occur because of this fact.
350.org is striving to be the predominant voice of support for all Earth’s inhabitants. It is a moral obligation by all to ensure the following generations are not burdened by a planet of destruction and upheaval. Hope is a guiding principle and the most fundamental characteristic of humans on this planet we call home.