Greenhouse gas emissions at record-high

The 2023 increase of CO2 was higher than that of 2022. PIC/iSTOCK

Greenhouse gas levels surged to a new record in 2023, rising by more than 10 per cent in just two decades, according to a new report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

In the course of 2023, large vegetation fires CO2 emissions and a possible reduction in carbon absorption by forests combined with stubbornly high fossil fuel CO2 emissions from human and industrial activities to drive the increase, according to the WMO's annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin. The globally averaged surface concentration of carbon dioxide reached 420 parts per million (ppm), methane 1934 parts per billion and nitrous oxide 336.9 parts per billion (ppb) in 2023.

"Another year. Another record. This should set alarm bells ringing among decision makers. We are clearly off track to meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius and aiming for 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels," said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.

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