• Disrupting Power Since 2015
  • Donate
  • Login
Saturday, May 17, 2025
  • Login
  • Register
Canary
MEDIA THAT DISRUPTS
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
MANAGE SUBSCRIPTION
SUPPORT
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
Canary
No Result
View All Result

Levels of climate-warming greenhouse gases in atmosphere reach record highs

The Canary by The Canary
25 October 2021
in News, UK
Reading Time: 3 mins read
168 4
A A
1
Home UK News
319
SHARES
2.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Levels of planet-warming greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached record highs again last year, UN scientists have warned ahead of key climate talks.

Carbon rising

Concentrations of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere rose at a faster rate in 2020 than over the previous decade, and the trend has continued in 2021, the UN’s World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said. The economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic did not have any discernible impact on atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases and the rate they are building up, although there was a temporary decline in new emissions, the WMO said.

If greenhouse gas concentrations continue to increase at current rates, the world will see temperature rises far above globally agreed long-term targets to limit warming to 1.5C to 2C to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Greenhouse gases are emitted by human activities such as burning fossil fuels for power, heating and transport, farming and deforestation, and they build up in the atmosphere where higher concentrations of the gases trap more heat, causing rising temperatures, extreme weather, and rising seas.

WMO secretary general Professor Petteri Taalas said the latest information on greenhouse gases contained a stark, scientific message for climate negotiators at the COP26 talks, adding:

We are way off track.

This comes at the same time that politicians seem to have diminished their ambitions on reversing climate change. As Jasmine Norden wrote for The Canary:

On the official Cop26 website, the first goal of the conference is:

‘Secure global net zero by mid-century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach’

The phrase ‘within reach’ is a lot more vague and non-committal than the Paris Agreement’s original pledge to limit warming to 1.5 degrees.

“There is no time to lose”

The last time the Earth had similar concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere was three to five million years ago when the temperature was 2C-3C warmer than now, and sea levels were 10-20 metres higher – but there weren’t 7.8 billion people living on the planet then, Taalas warned. He added:

Many countries are now setting carbon neutral targets and it is hoped that Cop26 will see a dramatic increase in commitments. We need to transform our commitment into action that will have an impact on the gases that drive climate change. We need to revisit our industrial, energy and transport systems and whole way of life.

The needed changes are economically affordable and technically possible. There is no time to lose.

The latest annual greenhouse gas bulletin from the WMO shows that levels of carbon dioxide – the most important greenhouse gas – in the atmosphere reached 413 parts per million in 2020, 49% above what it was in 1750 before human activity started affecting natural systems.

Concentrations of other key greenhouse gases methane and nitrous oxide also hit record highs in 2020, as they increased at faster rates than in the past 10 years.

Roughly half the carbon dioxide emitted by human activities remains in the atmosphere, while the other half is absorbed by oceans and land habitats such as forests. But the bulletin warns that these carbon-absorbing “sinks” may become less effective in the future, reducing their ability to take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and buffer the planet from even greater warming.

“Small window of opportunity”

The bulletin has been published as world leaders and negotiators prepare to gather in Glasgow for the COP26 climate conference in less than a week, where countries will be under pressure to take greater action to cut emissions of the greenhouse gases that are driving rising temperatures.

Responding to the report, professor Dave Reay – the director of Edinburgh Climate Change Institute, University of Edinburgh – said the true success or failure of COP26 would be written in the skies in the form of greenhouse gas concentrations. He noted:

This new report from the WMO provides a brutally frank assessment of what’s been written there to date. So far, it’s an epic fail

The “small window of opportunity” to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations at a level that meets global goals to curb rising temperatures was about to vanish, he warned. Dr Heather Graven, reader in climate physics at Imperial College London, said:

These atmospheric measurements provide hard evidence that, rather than slowing climate change, we are accelerating it. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are increasing faster than ever. It is crucial that Cop26 succeeds in ramping up mitigation efforts across the globe

Share128Tweet80
Previous Post

Even ex-cops think the policing bill could ‘harm communities’ and ‘exacerbate violence’

Next Post

Insulate Britain hits London’s financiers and says its plan will ‘create jobs and save lives’

Next Post
Insulate Britain protest

Insulate Britain hits London's financiers and says its plan will 'create jobs and save lives'

Boris Johnson

PM accused of ‘losing the plastic plot’ after saying recycling doesn’t work

Animation of the inside of the Israeli military court in Ofer

With a 99.7% conviction rate, it's time the Israeli military courts went on trial

Support demonstration for Ryan Roberts

Bristol Crown Court prevents supporters of 'riot' defendant from sitting in the courtroom

Military women

Women in the UK military facing bullying, sexual harassment and assault

Please login to join discussion
Disabled people set to take to parliament en masse to oppose DWP cuts
Analysis

Disabled people set to take to parliament en masse to oppose DWP cuts

by The Canary
16 May 2025
Southern Water are threatening a journalist with defamation for asking difficult questions
Analysis

Southern Water are threatening a journalist with defamation for doing their job

by HG
16 May 2025
FIFA face human rights questions over upcoming world cups in Saudi Arabia and the US
Analysis

FIFA face human rights questions over upcoming world cups in Saudi Arabia and the US

by Maryam Jameela
16 May 2025
Plaid Cymru Commons leader just hit a nerve with this biting question to Keir Starmer
Analysis

Plaid Cymru Commons leader just hit a nerve with this biting question to Keir Starmer

by James Wright
16 May 2025
DWP failures have led to hundreds of deaths - but these are just the tip of the iceberg
Analysis

DWP failures have now led to hundreds of deaths – but these are still the tip of the iceberg

by Steve Topple
16 May 2025
  • Contact
  • About & FAQ
  • Get our Daily News Email
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

The Canary
PO Box 71199
LONDON
SE20 9EX

Canary Media Ltd – registered in England. Company registration number 09788095.

For guest posting, contact [email protected]

For other enquiries, contact: [email protected]

The Canary is owned and run by independent journalists and volunteers, NOT offshore billionaires.

You can write for us, or support us by making a regular or one-off donation.

© Canary Media Ltd 2024, all rights reserved | Website by Monster | Hosted by Krystal | Privacy Settings

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion

© 2023 Canary - Worker's co-op.

Before you go, have you seen...?

Disabled people set to take to parliament en masse to oppose DWP cuts
Analysis
The Canary

Disabled people set to take to parliament en masse to oppose DWP cuts

Southern Water are threatening a journalist with defamation for asking difficult questions
Analysis
HG

Southern Water are threatening a journalist with defamation for doing their job

FIFA face human rights questions over upcoming world cups in Saudi Arabia and the US
Analysis
Maryam Jameela

FIFA face human rights questions over upcoming world cups in Saudi Arabia and the US

Plaid Cymru Commons leader just hit a nerve with this biting question to Keir Starmer
Analysis
James Wright

Plaid Cymru Commons leader just hit a nerve with this biting question to Keir Starmer

ADVERTISEMENT
Business
Nathan Spears

Smart Delivery Positions Mr Nang as a Leader in Australia’s Cream Charger Market

Lifestyle
Nathan Spears

Social Media Activism: How Grassroots Movements Are Gaining Power Online

Travel
Nathan Spears

Best Destinations In Spain For A Couples Holiday