Global Emissions Set to Exceed Climate Goals
The U.N. World Meteorological Organization released a report that tracked the levels of greenhouse gas emissions globally and found that the planet is on a concerning trajectory towards surpassing the world’s climate goals. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has warned that there seems to be no end in sight for growth in greenhouse gas emissions, with 2022 recording record levels. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide have reached unprecedented highs, which is driving the global rise in temperatures and extreme weather events.
The data analyzed by WMO comes from 150 observation stations across the globe. The record greenhouse gases levels in 2022 are setting the stage for discussion at the COP28 climate conference this month in Dubai. The report from the WMO has also warned that the planet is moving ever closer to the warming threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, and stressed that irreversible consequences such as the dieback of the Amazon rainforest or the destabilization of ice sheets could be imminent.
These rising concentrations are also pushing the world’s forests and oceans closer to a point where they may stop absorbing the level of emissions that humans rely on them to do, WMO senior scientific officer, Oksana Tarasova.
In 2022, the levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide soared to 150 percent above preindustrial levels. Methane and nitrous oxide also saw significant increases, compared to previous years. The climate impacts were felt globally with extreme weather disasters such as flooding, extreme heat, and droughts affecting different regions of the world.
The WMO’s findings underscore the urgent need for concerted global action to limit greenhouse gas emissions and prevent further acceleration of climate change. The danger in surpassing the 1.5-degree threshold limit is imminent, and immediate action is required to avert this trajectory, according to WMO scientists.
The report comes amid mounting evidence of the growing urgency in the fight against climate change, with scientists and environmental experts emphasizing the need for immediate and substantial actions to prevent the worst impacts of climate change from becoming a reality.