November 6, 2013

At a news conference presenting the annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, Secretary General Michel Jarraud of the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said that the agency has determined that volumes of greenhouse gases blamed for climate change hit a new record in 2012. “The trend is accelerating,” he said, “with year on year increases since 2010.” The volume of carbon dioxide, or CO2, the primary greenhouse gas emitted by human activities, grew faster in 2012 than in the previous decade, reaching 393.1 parts per million (ppm), 41 percent above the pre-industrial level. Its concentration in the atmosphere grew 2.2 ppm, higher than the average of 2.02 ppm over the past 10 years and the highest in over 800,000 years.

At this pace, in 2020 greenhouse gas emissions will exceed the maximum needed to contain global warming below 2 degrees by 8-12 billion tons; as a result, the 2 degree mark will likely be reached in mid-century.

“The increase in CO2 is mostly due to human activities,” Jarraud said. “The actions we take or don’t take now will have consequences for a very, very long period.”

It’s time to act.