Carbon dioxide levels increased the most last year since 1984, driving the concentration of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere to a new high, according to a study released Tuesday.
Between 2012 and 2013, the spike in levels suggested the earth’s biosphere was swallowing more carbon emissions even as they continued to rise, said the World Meteorological Organization.
Overall, the WMO’s Greenhouse Gas Bulletin said carbon dioxide emission levels are 143 percent above their preindustrial levels, and that carbon emissions accounted for 80 percent of the spike in the warming effect between 1990 and 2013.
Michel Jarraud, the WMO secretary-general, said the data reflects a need to tamp down greenhouse gas emissions, which a scientific consensus says drives global warming, largely through human activities such as burning fossil fuels.
“We know without any doubt that our climate is changing and our weather is becoming more extreme due to human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels,” Jarraud said.
The data will serve as fresh evidence to nations to act on climate change as negotiators head into United Nations climate talks next year in Paris. Nations there are seeking a deal to cut enough greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 to avoid a 2 degrees Celsius global temperature rise by 2100.
“The Greenhouse Gas Bulletin shows that, far from falling, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere actually increased last year at the fastest rate for nearly 30 years. We must reverse this trend by cutting emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases across the board,” Jarraud said. “We are running out of time.”
