To: Don Green who wrote (627 ) 10/28/2024 8:01:33 PM From: Don Green 1 RecommendationRecommended By
Respond to Greenhouse gases are piling up at record pace By Andrew Freedman A mixed area of fields and Amazon rainforest burn in 2023. Photo: Gustavo Basso/NurPhoto via Getty Images Global carbon dioxide concentrations reached record levels in 2023, with a surge of 11.4% during the past two decades alone, a new UN report finds.Why it matters: While countries are deploying renewable energy sources at a quickening pace, it hasn't been enough to halt or reverse emissions growth.The annual greenhouse gas concentrations reports are aimed at policymakers headed to UN climate talks next month in Baku, Azerbaijan. The big picture: The UN's World Meteorological Organization found that CO2 is building up in the atmosphere more quickly than any other time in human existence.The WMO report partly blames El Niño-related tropical fire emissions for 2023's high CO2 growth. Other factors included high fossil fuel emissions and a potential reduction in forests' CO2 absorption rates. Zoom in: In total, globally averaged surface concentrations of CO2 — the most abundant and longest-lived greenhouse gas — hit 420 parts per million last year, the WMO found.The annual rate of increase in CO2 levels was 2.3 ppm, making 2023 the 12th straight year with an increase greater than 2 ppm. Methane , another powerful greenhouse gas, and nitrous oxide also spiked to record levels. Stunning stats: When WMO annual greenhouse gas bulletins began in 2004, globally averaged CO2 was 377.1 ppm.sea levels were up to 65 feet higher. Full story
