As world leaders gear up for the UN Climate Change Conference in Baku next month, urgent warnings about the mounting human toll of the climate crisis continue to ring out, notably from UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Echoing these concerns, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett highlighted the alarming acceleration of carbon dioxide (CO2) levels, a primary greenhouse gas, in the atmosphere. Barrett noted that CO2 is accumulating “faster than at any time experienced during human existence,” with the concentration jumping from 377.1 parts per million (ppm) in 2004 to 420 ppm in 2023, an 11.4% increase over two decades. The 2024 Greenhouse Gas Bulletin by the WMO serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need to curb these emissions.
Barrett stressed the importance of even slight changes in CO2 levels, underscoring their profound impact on glacier and ice retreat, sea level rise, ocean heat, acidification, and the frequency of extreme weather events. These shifts not only endanger ecosystems and biodiversity but also carry significant repercussions for the global economy and human health. Factors exacerbating the situation include forest fires and the El Niño phenomenon, which have significantly boosted greenhouse gas concentrations, particularly in late 2023.
WMO’s Senior Scientific Officer, Oksana Tarasova, pointed to last year’s Canadian wildfires as “absolutely dramatic” events in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. She noted that current CO2 levels—unseen in human history—were last present 3 to 5 million years ago, a period marked by temperatures 3 to 4 degrees higher and sea levels 10 to 20 meters elevated. These developments underscore the tremendous challenges facing policymakers as they convene for critical climate discussions. Further updates are expected as the situation evolves.
Original Story https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/10/1156186
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