WMO: Atmospheric CO2 Remains High Despite Pandemic
Despite the slowdown in industrial production due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the quarantine, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is still very high. This is reported by experts from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
In 2020, greenhouse gas emissions decreased, but the change in CO2 concentration was insignificant and comparable to standard annual fluctuations.
According to preliminary estimates, the global level of emissions will decrease in 2020 by at least 4.2 percent, and at the most by 7.5 percent. According to experts, this will not lead to a significant decrease in the level of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere.
“In 2019 there was another growth spurt – the level of carbon dioxide increased and the average annual rate reached 410 parts per million …”, – said in a press release from WMO.
According to experts, since 1990 the total radiative forcing of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide, has increased by 45 percent.
“Carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere for centuries, and in the ocean even longer. The last time comparable CO2 concentration on Earth was observed 3-5 million years ago, when the temperature was 2-3 degrees higher and the sea level was 10-20 meters higher than now. But then [the planet] did not have 7.7 billion inhabitants, ”said WMO Secretary General Petteri Taalas.
“In 2015 we crossed the 400 ppm mark and just four years later we surpassed the 410 ppm mark. There has never been such a growth rate in the history of observations. Quarantine-related emission reductions are only a tiny point on the graph, ”he added.
The head of WMO stressed that it is hardly possible to consider a pandemic as a solution to the problem of global warming. At the same time, according to Taalas, the pandemic and the changes that have occurred within its framework may become a starting point for more decisive measures to reduce harmful emissions and combat global warming.
“The necessary measures are economically affordable and technically feasible, and they will only have a small impact on our daily life. We welcome the fact that an increasing number of countries and companies are opting for carbon neutrality, ”concluded Taalas.
