Olympian Sam Fricker shows how CO2 levels are dramatically increasing in the atmosphere

Now, the 19-year-old diver is using his platform to raise awareness about the increasing amount of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in the Earth's atmosphere.

Fricker and UNSW's Professor Chris Turney explained a graph of CO2 levels in the atmosphere in a video posted to TikTok on Wednesday.

"This was the last Ice Age 18,000 years ago and this is how much CO2 has been in the air throughout the years,' Fricker said in the video, motioning to the graph.

Fricker's video about CO2 emissions came as dozens of nations pledged to phase out coal at COP26 - but Australia was not one of them.

Professor Turney then explained a sharp upturn in the graph, which he attributed to industrialisation.

"This was industrialisation and we're here at 410 so way above the natural variability," Professor Turney said.

Professor Turney said that the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is 410 parts per million (PPM), which is how it is generally measured.

Global CO2 concentration in the atmosphere were around 278PPM in pre-industrial times from 1750 to 1800, according to the Scripps CO2 Program.

Atmospheric carbon dioxide peaked for 2021 in May at a monthly average of 419 parts per million (ppm), which is more than 50 per cent higher than pre-industrial levels.

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