The Geological Society of London has prepared a position statement on climate change, focusing specifically on the geological evidence. In the coming centuries, continued emissions of carbon from burning oil, gas and coal at close to or higher than current levels, and from related human activities, could increase the total to close to the amounts added during the 55 million year warming event some 1,500 to 2,000 billion tonnes. Further contributions from natural sources (wetlands, tundra, methane hydrates, etc.) may come as the Earth warms. The geological evidence from the 55 million year event and from earlier warming episodes suggests that such an addition is likely to raise average global temperatures by at least 5-6 degrees C, and possibly more, and that recovery of the climate in the absence of any mitigation measures could take 100,000 years or more. Numerical models of the climate system support such an interpretation. In the light of the evidence presented here it is reasonable to conclude that emitting further large amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere over time is likely to be unwise, uncomfortable though that fact may be.
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