Greenhouse gas levels hit record high amid COP26 concerns

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Concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached record levels last year, the United Nations said on Monday, in a stern warning as Britain’s Boris Johnson admitted he was “very worried” that the summit of COP26 is going badly.

The UN direct report on the increase in global warming comes as Prime Minister Johnson, host of COP26, said it was “very, very far from clear that we will get the progress we have made. need”.

“I’m very worried that it could go wrong… it’s touch and go,” Johnson said, although he was still hopeful that a deal could be reached in the 12-day climate talks to cut emissions. of carbon and limit future temperature increases.

Highlighting the challenges ahead, coal-intensive Australia on Monday unveiled a long-awaited 2050 target to achieve net zero emissions – while rejecting any improvement to its 2030 targets.

“We want our heavy industries, like mining, to stay open, to remain competitive and to adapt, so that they remain viable as long as global demand allows,” said Conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

COP26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, is being held in Glasgow from October 31 to November 12.

The UN World Meteorological Organization has said the continued increase in greenhouse gas emissions will lead to more extreme weather conditions and far-reaching impacts on the environment, economy and humanity.

The WMO said the economic slowdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic triggered a temporary drop in new emissions, but had no noticeable impact on atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases and their growth rates.

The organization’s Greenhouse Gas Bulletin said last year’s annual rate of increase was above the annual average between 2011 and 2020 – and that the trend continued into 2021.

– “Very far from the track” –

The WMO has said that as long as emissions continue, global temperatures will continue to rise.

And given the long lifespan of carbon dioxide (CO2), the temperature levels already seen will persist for decades even if emissions are quickly reduced to net zero.

“The Greenhouse Gas Bulletin contains a clear scientific message for climate change negotiators at COP26,” said WMO Chief Petteri Taalas.

“At the current rate of increase in greenhouse gas concentrations, by the end of this century we will see a rise in temperature well above the Paris Agreement targets of 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, ”he warned.

“We are far from the track.”

The WMO said that with the continued increase in greenhouse gas emissions, along with rising temperatures, the planet could expect more extreme weather conditions.

“We need to review our industrial, energy and transportation systems and our whole way of life. The changes needed are economically affordable and technically possible,” Taalas said. “There’s no time to lose.”

WMO has also said alarmingly that the southeastern part of the Amazon rainforest, long a carbon sink, has now become a source of carbon emissions due to deforestation.

– ‘The catastrophe is approaching’ –

The three main greenhouse gases are CO2, methane and nitrous oxide. CO2 is the most important, accounting for about 66% of the warming effect on the climate.

CO2 concentrations reached 413.2 parts per million (ppm) in 2020, up 2.5 ppm, and are 149% of the pre-industrial level in 1750, the WMO said.

Methane averages hit a new high of 1,889 parts per billion in 2020, up 11 ppb from the previous year, and are at 262% of the pre-industrial benchmark.

Nitrous oxide averages reached 333.2 ppb, up 1.2 ppb, and now stand at 123% of 1,750 levels.

Euan Nisbet, of the Greenhouse Gas Group at the University of London, compared the greenhouse gas measurements to a “slip-up in a car accident”.

“The disaster is getting closer and closer, but you can’t stop it. You can clearly see the crash coming, and all you can do is scream.”

Dave Reay, director of the Edinburgh Climate Change Institute, said the report provided a “brutally candid” assessment of the COP’s achievements so far: “An epic failure.”

Meanwhile, a ten-year-old goal for rich countries to contribute $ 100 billion a year to help the poorest tackle climate change should be achievable in 2023, according to analysis by the Organization for Cooperation and Development. economic development.

The target was supposed to have been achieved last year, and the failure of developed countries to do so has become a key point of contention as Glasgow approaches.

Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler pledged more than $ 1 billion for new environmental initiatives on Monday, taking further steps to bolster the environmental credentials of the world’s largest oil exporter.

And two days after aiming for carbon neutrality by 2060, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pledged to contribute 15% of the $ 10.4 billion to finance the “circular carbon economy” and provide “clean fuel” to help feed 750 million people around the world.

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