The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Carbon dioxide levels hit a new high despite COVID lockdowns - WMO
Levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere hit a new record of 410.5 parts per million in 2019 and are expected to keep rising this year despite a slight reduction in emissions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in its annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin on Monday.
Atmospheric concentrations of CO2, the most important of several greenhouse gases that trap heat in the atmosphere and contribute to climate change, have risen by 50 per cent since pre-industrial times.
“So the CO2 which we have now in the atmosphere is accumulated since 1750, so it's every single bit which we put in the atmosphere since that time actually forms the current concentration. It's not what happened today or yesterday, it’s the whole history of the human economic and human development, which actually lead us to this global level of 410”, Oksana Tarasova, WMO Chief of Atmospheric and Environment Research Division, told a news conference in Geneva.
WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said that COVID-related lockdowns were expected to reduce this year’s carbon dioxide emissions by between four and seven per cent.
Dr. Tarasova said that CO2 levels in the atmosphere would continue to increase rapidly, and even if CO2 emissions stopped, it would take decades for atmospheric levels to start to fall.
“When we talk about the impact of COVID and Professor Taalas indicated that the impact of COVID on emissions is between four to seven per cent. So despite the fact that it looked like that the world stands still, we get only the decrease of four to seven per cent in emissions which we produced. So our whole economy and our consumption patterns actually wire us to the extremely high emissions, even if we all sit on lockdown and limit our mobility, because the lockdown is only limited on mobility and not on our consumption.”
Professor Taalas said the world needed to move rapidly towards carbon neutrality, and many countries were now promising to do so.
“If you would like to reach carbon neutrality or this 1.5 degree (Celsius) target, then we should become carbon neutral by 2050. And as I said, the good news is that we have now a growing amount of countries and groups of countries who have committed to that. So far we have 50 per cent of the global emissions which are coming from China, European Union and Japan and South Korea, and also 50 per cent of the global GDP behind this,”he said.
“If the USA with the Biden administration will have the same target that would mean we would have the majority of our emissions and also the majority of the global economy behind such a target. And we should bend this emissions growth curve in the coming five years, and then we should start seeing drops of the emissions of the order of six per cent per year until 2050 to reach that target.”
Asked about the prospects for environmentally-friendly policies in the next U.S. administration, Professor Taalas said: “Biden, at least in his campaign, he was indicating that they would invest both in carbon-friendly technologies, there would be a fairly, fairly big package for that. And we are talking about a couple of trillions. And then he has indicated that he would like to have the same aim as many others, to become carbon neutral by 2050, and of course that would be good news for the – globally, and it might have the domino effect that it might motivate also some other countries.”
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations main entrance, a sunny day.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Dr Oksana Tarasova, WMO Chief of Atmospheric and Environment Research Division: “So the CO2 which we have now in the atmosphere is accumulated since 1750, so it's every single bit which we put in the atmosphere since that time actually forms the current concentration. It's not what happened today or yesterday, it’s the whole history of the human economic and human development, which actually lead us to this global level of 410 (ppm).”
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations main entrance with UN’s flag.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Dr Oksana Tarasova, WMO Chief of Atmospheric and Environment Research Division: “And when we talk about the impact of COVID and Professor Taalas indicated that the impact of COVID on emissions is between four to seven per cent. So, despite the fact that it looked like that the world stands still, we get only the decrease of four to seven per cent in emissions which we produced. So, our whole economy and our consumption patterns actually wire us to the extremely high emissions, even if we all sit on lockdown and limit our mobility, because the lockdown is only limited on mobility and not on our consumption.”
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations main entrance.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Prof Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General: “If you would like to reach carbon neutrality or this 1.5 degree target, then we should become carbon neutral by 2050. And as I said, the good news is that we have now a growing amount of countries and groups of countries who have committed to that. So far we have 50 per cent of the global emissions which are coming from… from China, European Union and Japan and South Korea, and also 50 per cent of the global GDP behind this.”
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations main entrance.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Prof Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General: “If the USA with the Biden administration will have the same target that would mean we would have the majority of our emissions and also the majority of the global economy behind such a target. And we should bend this emissions growth curve in the coming five years, and then we should start seeing drops of the emissions of the order of six per cent per year until 2050 to reach that target.”
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations flag alley, a car passing.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Prof Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary-General: “Biden, at least in his campaign, he was indicating that they would invest both in carbon-friendly technologies, there would be a fairly, fairly big package for that. And we are talking about a couple of trillions. And then he has indicated that he would like to have the same aim as many others, to become carbon neutral by 2050, and of course that would be good news for the – globally, and it might have the domino effect that it might motivate also some other countries.”
- Exterior wide shot, Broken Chair sculpture and Palais des Nations main entrance.
- Exterior medium shot, Palais des Nations main entrance.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Friday made the following remarks on Israel’s military ground incursions and displacement orders in Lebanon.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , IOM , WHO
The escalating war in the Middle East has heightened growing concerns about further civilian suffering and displacement in the region and far beyond, UN agencies said on Friday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights chief Volker Türk made the following remarks at a press stake out on the current situation in the Middle East.
“The crisis sparked in the Middle East one week ago following US and Israeli attacks on Iran, and Iran’s counterattacks, has been spreading like wildfire. It is causing significant damage in Iran, Israel and at least a dozen other countries, mostly in the Gulf, with risks of major economic and environmental ramifications across the world,” he said.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Tuesday made the following remarks on the current situation in the Middle-East.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNHCR , WFP
Schoolgirls killed, thousands displaced, aid routes compromised: UN humanitarians deplore effects of new Middle East war
On the fourth day of Israeli and United States airstrikes against Iran and amid growing violence and instability in the Middle East, the UN urgently called for protection of civilians and warned of growing displacement and humanitarian needs.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM
Well over 1.3 million people have fled Sudan’s ongoing war for South Sudan, the UN migration agency, IOM, reported on Friday, amid rising violence and a massive humanitarian emergency linked to the country’s political crisis.
2
1
2
Statements , Conferences , Edited News | HRC , OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday presented to the 61st Human Rights Council his global update on the human rights situation.
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday presented to the UN Human Rights Council a new report on the human rights situation in occupied Palestinian territory.
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday briefed the Human Rights Council in Geneva on the human rights situation in Sudan: “Nearly three years of brutal conflict have almost turned Sudan into a land of despair. The report I am presenting today is yet another chapter in the chronicle of cruelty. It outlines clear, ongoing patterns of violence against civilians, including killings, rape, and torture. As the fighting has intensified, violations of international law by all parties to the conflict have surged, while accountability has remained practically absent,” he said.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday told the Human Rights Council in Geneva today: “Afghanistan is a graveyard for human rights. The cascade of edicts and laws announced by the de facto authorities since coming to power in 2021 is having a crushing impact on the Afghan people, particularly women and girls.”
3
1
Edited News | UNITED NATIONS , OCHA , UNHCR
Ukraine enters fifth year of war: Attacks and displacement deepen human suffering amid mounting recovery challenges
On the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, UN officials took stock of the immense human and economic toll of the conflict while appealing to the world to “never get used to war.”
2
27
2
2
Edited News , Press Conferences , Images | General Assembly , UNITED NATIONS
The full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops on 24 February 2022 shattered the peaceful aspirations of an entire continent, but war must never be the new normal, UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday.