The UN’s World Meteorological Organization has announced that levels of climate-heating gases hit a new record high in 2020.
The new records came despite coronavirus-related lockdowns.
The concentration of carbon dioxide is now 50% higher than before the Industrial Revolution sparked the mass burning of fossil fuels.
Methane levels have more than doubled since 1750. All key greenhouse gases (GHG) rose faster in 2020 than the average for the previous decade. This trend has continued in 2021, the WMO report found.
WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas warned the current rate of increase in heat-trapping gases would result in temperature rises “far in excess” of 1.5C (2.7F) above the pre-industrial average this century – the target set out by in the landmark 2015 Paris climate agreement.
The data shows the climate crisis continues to worsen. It sends a “stark” message to the nations meeting at the Cop26 climate summit. WMO chief Prof Petteri Taalas further said: “We are way off track.”
The UN and Britain will co-host a global climate summit on December 12. The event will mark the fifth anniversary of the landmark Paris Agreement.
The announcement came days after Chinese President Xi Jinping told the UN that the world’s largest greenhouse gas polluter would peak emissions in 2030 and attempt to go carbon neutral by 2060, a move hailed by environmentalists.
“We have champions and solutions all around us, in every city, corporation and country,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
