Greta Thunberg uses popular meme to show the devastating cost of climate change

The teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg has used the popular 'how it started' meme to show how levels of carbon dioxide in the air have increased in the last 800,000 years.

The 'how it started how it's going' meme has been doing the rounds for the past few weeks on Twitter with many people using it to show how their personal and professional lives have progressed.

Others have used it for more cultural means:

Others have used it to make political points:

However, Thunberg's use of the meme is possibly the most punchy and devastating version we've seen yet. By using a just one graph shows the shocking rise of carbon dioxide gases into the atmosphere dating back to 800,000 years ago.

As you can see the levels remained consistent but have shown a colossal rise in recent years, unlike anything that had gone before it. Needless to say, people were shocked.

The graph that Thunberg shared was created by climate/water scientist Peter Gleick who thanked her for using his findings for her meme, leading to a nice interaction between the pair.

Despite much of the world being forced into lockdown because of coronavirus this year, carbon dioxide levels are still reported to be at a record high. A UN report published in 2019, found that emissions would have to fall by 7.6 per cent every year to reach the 1.5c temperature goal set by the Paris Climate Accords. If it does not it could lead to a severe and irreversible impact on the climate.