The concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a record level last year, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported on Wednesday, warning that this trend has “no end in sight.”
The warning comes weeks before world leaders gather in Dubai for the annual UN climate conference COP28, where governments will push for greater climate action, including potentially phasing out fossil fuels sooner. from 2050.
In 2022, global average carbon dioxide concentrations will be 50% above pre-industrial times for the first time, according to the WMO, the UN meteorological agency. “Despite decades of warnings from the scientific community, thousands of pages of reports and dozens of climate conferences, we are still heading in the wrong direction,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.
According to Taalas, higher concentrations of greenhouse gases will be accompanied by more extreme weather events, such as intense heat and rain, melting ice, rising sea levels, as well as warming and acidification of the oceans.
“About half the planet faces increased flooding and a third of drought,” Taalas explained. “And this negative trend will continue into the 2060s.” “We must urgently reduce the consumption of fossil fuels,” he added.
Methane concentrations in the atmosphere also increased, and levels of nitrous oxide, another greenhouse gas, experienced the largest year-on-year increase on record between 2021 and 2022, according to the WMO.
Greenhouse gases are responsible for warming the planet and triggering extreme weather events. Unlike emissions that can be reduced, much of the carbon dioxide emitted decades ago remains in the atmosphere and activates slow processes such as sea level rise. “It takes thousands of years to remove carbon from the system once emitted into the atmosphere,” Taalas said.
Another UN report released on Tuesday said governments were not making enough progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the worst effects of global warming.
