Tatsat Chronicle Magazine

CO2 concentrations hit new record despite Covid-19 curbs last year: UN

October 29, 2021
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In the last ten years, CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide levels have risen faster than the annual average

CO2 levels in the atmosphere surpassed 400 parts per million in 2015 and have continued to grow quickly since then. “It topped 413 ppm just five years later,” Taalas stated. “It has serious consequences for our daily lives and well-being, as well as for the state of our planet and the future of our children and grandchildren.” The last time the planet had a similar CO2 concentration was 3-5 million years ago, when temperatures were 2-3 degrees warmer and sea levels were 10-20 metres higher than they are now. “But there were not 7.8 billion people then,” the World Meteorological Organization’s chief remarked.

The pandemic’s disruption decreased new emissions a little, but not enough to have a meaningful impact. CO2 concentrations are anticipated to rise even more this year as economies around the world recover, according to the World Meteorological Organization. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported in August that the global surface temperature was 1.09 degrees Celsius higher in the decade leading up to 2020 than in the pre-industrial period. Excess CO2 concentrations have already had irreversible effects and will continue to have an influence on the Earth in the future, according to a group of UN-backed scientists.

Further CO2 emissions must be capped as soon as feasible due to record CO2 levels. CO2 emissions will have to fall by around 45 percent from 2010 levels by 2030, reaching net zero around 2050, according to the world’s most authoritative climate-science authority. Expectations are high in the run-up to COP 26 because it may be the last chance for the world to work together to limit global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius and for developing countries to secure whatever carbon budget remains.

On Saturday, Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, unveiled aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2060. Russia and China have also stated that they intend to achieve net zero emissions by 2060. According to the United Nations, 130 nations have established or are considering a net-zero emissions goal by the middle of the century.