A newly released U.N. climate change report revealed that not even pandemic lockdowns could combat rising greenhouse gas emissions. According to the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, “the increase in CO2 from 2019 to 2020 was slightly lower than that observed from 2018 to 2019, but higher than the average annual growth rate over the last decade. This is despite the approximately 5.6% drop in fossil fuel CO2 emissions in 2020 due to restrictions related to the coronavirus disease pandemic.”
Additional findings showed concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide well above pre-industrial era levels. The WMO defines this period as occurring prior to 1750, when “human activity began to be a destabilizing factor.” The pre-industrial period is considered a yardstick for combatting climate change. For example, the 2015 Paris Agreement requires signees to hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.”
That agreement was adopted six years ago at the U.N.’s annual climate conference by 195 parties and entered into effect Nov. 4, 2016. This year’s conference, dubbed COP26 and held in the U.K., is mere days away. The WMO is hoping the report it released Monday will reinforce the urgent need to recommit to the Paris Agreement and enact sweeping changes in an effort to reduce emissions.
“The Greenhouse Gas Bulletin contains a stark, scientific message for climate change negotiators at COP26,” WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas said in a press release. “At the current rate of increase in greenhouse gas concentrations, we will see a temperature increase by the end of this century far in excess of the Paris Agreement targets of 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. We are way off track.”
The Greenhouse Gas Bulletin showed fossil fuel combustion and cement production as being the two primary factors contributing to carbon dioxide emissions. All of these factors are human-caused, though a poll released Tuesday by Vice showed that nearly half the country doesn’t believe that outright fact. Nearly 70% of Americans surveyed believe that global warming is real, though respondents were divided on the root cause. More than a third believe that natural changes in the environment are primarily to blame.
There have indeed been changes, especially when it comes to carbon sinks and sources, but the Greenhouse Gas Bulletin found that land and ocean carbon sinks, which absorb more carbon than they emit, grew proportionally with rising emissions. Still, the WMO warned that changes in land use and climate conditions could deeply impact that balance and force readjustments of the Paris Agreement in order to meet its commitments.
One example of a changing carbon sink is the southeastern portion of Amazonia. For the first time, scientists were able to confirm that a portion of the Amazon rainforest had changed from a carbon sink to a source of carbon emissions. Much of this was due to deforestation and environmental factors like decreases in precipitation and rising temperatures during the rainforest’s dry season.
Much of the eastern Amazon has been impacted by those factors, while the western region has sat relatively untouched by humans and faces milder dry seasons. Climate change isn’t something that solely affects the many natural wonders of our planet. Nearly every facet of our lives could be impacted if we don’t invest in climate change mitigation, from agriculture to national security.
As Rep. Barbara Lee noted on Tuesday, the only way to truly fight climate change is to invest in solutions. Lee met last week with President Biden about the Build Back Better Act, which provides investments into green initiatives that would put the U.S. on track to cut economy-wide carbon emissions in half. Ahead of COP26, the U.S. could send a bold global message by becoming a leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Call on lawmakers to pass the Build Back Better Act.
Additional findings showed concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide well above pre-industrial era levels. The WMO defines this period as occurring prior to 1750, when “human activity began to be a destabilizing factor.” The pre-industrial period is considered a yardstick for combatting climate change. For example, the 2015 Paris Agreement requires signees to hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.”
That agreement was adopted six years ago at the U.N.’s annual climate conference by 195 parties and entered into effect Nov. 4, 2016. This year’s conference, dubbed COP26 and held in the U.K., is mere days away. The WMO is hoping the report it released Monday will reinforce the urgent need to recommit to the Paris Agreement and enact sweeping changes in an effort to reduce emissions.
“The Greenhouse Gas Bulletin contains a stark, scientific message for climate change negotiators at COP26,” WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas said in a press release. “At the current rate of increase in greenhouse gas concentrations, we will see a temperature increase by the end of this century far in excess of the Paris Agreement targets of 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. We are way off track.”
The Greenhouse Gas Bulletin showed fossil fuel combustion and cement production as being the two primary factors contributing to carbon dioxide emissions. All of these factors are human-caused, though a poll released Tuesday by Vice showed that nearly half the country doesn’t believe that outright fact. Nearly 70% of Americans surveyed believe that global warming is real, though respondents were divided on the root cause. More than a third believe that natural changes in the environment are primarily to blame.
There have indeed been changes, especially when it comes to carbon sinks and sources, but the Greenhouse Gas Bulletin found that land and ocean carbon sinks, which absorb more carbon than they emit, grew proportionally with rising emissions. Still, the WMO warned that changes in land use and climate conditions could deeply impact that balance and force readjustments of the Paris Agreement in order to meet its commitments.
One example of a changing carbon sink is the southeastern portion of Amazonia. For the first time, scientists were able to confirm that a portion of the Amazon rainforest had changed from a carbon sink to a source of carbon emissions. Much of this was due to deforestation and environmental factors like decreases in precipitation and rising temperatures during the rainforest’s dry season.
Much of the eastern Amazon has been impacted by those factors, while the western region has sat relatively untouched by humans and faces milder dry seasons. Climate change isn’t something that solely affects the many natural wonders of our planet. Nearly every facet of our lives could be impacted if we don’t invest in climate change mitigation, from agriculture to national security.
As Rep. Barbara Lee noted on Tuesday, the only way to truly fight climate change is to invest in solutions. Lee met last week with President Biden about the Build Back Better Act, which provides investments into green initiatives that would put the U.S. on track to cut economy-wide carbon emissions in half. Ahead of COP26, the U.S. could send a bold global message by becoming a leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Call on lawmakers to pass the Build Back Better Act.