The concentration of climate-damaging greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is rising from record to record. The most important of these, carbon dioxide (CO₂), reached a striking mark last year: the concentration was 50 percent above pre-industrial levels, the World Weather Organization (WMO) reported on Wednesday in Geneva. This year the increase continued. The greenhouse gases methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) also reached record levels last year.
“Despite decades of warnings from the scientific community, despite thousands of pages of reports and dozens of climate conferences, we are still moving in the wrong direction,” said WMO chief Petteri Taalas, according to a statement.
The last time CO₂ concentrations as high as they are now was three to five million years ago, writes the UN Weather Organization. The average temperature was two to three degrees higher and the sea levels were ten to 20 meters higher. According to the WMO, the CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere was 417.9 ppm (parts per million) last year, an increase of 2.2 ppm compared to the previous year.
According to the WMO, the increase in CO₂ leveled off somewhat last year compared to 2021 and the ten-year average. But this is probably due to natural fluctuations. New emissions from industrial man-made activities continued to rise. And because CO₂ has a long lifespan, the temperature increase that has already occurred will continue for decades – even if emissions are quickly reduced to zero.
“Current levels of greenhouse gases are putting us on a path that will see temperatures rise well above the Paris Climate Agreement target by the end of the century,” said WMO chief Petteri Taalas. “This means more extreme weather such as intense heat, rainfall and melting ice.” In the oceans, this leads to a rise in water levels, higher temperatures and greater acidification. “There is an urgent need to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels.”
At the climate conference in Dubai, which begins at the end of the month, the focus will also be on how long fossil energy sources will continue to be developed. An immediate stop would be the best choice for the climate, but exploration is actually continuing massively, as shown by the “Global Oil & Gas Exit List” published on Wednesday. Accordingly, almost all of the 700 mining companies examined are developing new oil and gas fields. They spent more than $170 billion on this in 2021.