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WMO Press conference: United in Science multi-agency report on greenhouse gases and climate change
World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
Subject: Release of the United in Science multi-agency report on greenhouse gases and climate change
Speakers:
- Prof. Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of the WMO
- United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres (video message)
‘Tipping point’ for climate action: Time’s running out to avoid catastrophic heating said head of UN weather agency Prof. Petteri Taalas
STORYLINE
The temporary reduction in carbon emissions caused by global COVID-19 lockdowns did not slow the relentless advance of climate change. Greenhouse gas concentrations are at record levels, and the planet is on path towards dangerous overheating, a multi-agency climate report published on Thursday warns. According to the landmark United in Science 2021, there “is no sign of growing back greener”, as carbon dioxide emissions are rapidly accelerating, after a temporary blip in 2020 due to COVID, and nowhere close to the targets set by the Paris Agreement. “We are not yet on track towards the Paris (Agreement) 1.5 to 2 degrees’ limit, although positive things have started to happen and the political interest to mitigate climate change is clearly growing. But to be successful in this effort, we have to start acting now. We cannot wait for decades to act. We have to start acting already in this decade” said WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas, who was spekaing in Geneva following the release of the document.
According to scientists, the rising global temperatures are already fueling devastating extreme weather events around the world, with escalating impacts on economies and societies. “We had this temperature anomaly in western Canada and the United States, where we were up to 15 degrees warmer temperatures than normally, and that led to a record breaking forest fires and major health problems, especially amongst elderly people” said Prof. Taalas, who also noted the flooding in western Germany that led to almost 200 casualties. “These kind of events that used to happen every 100 years, they may happen nowadays every 20 years and in the future even more often. So the risk of these kind of events is growing because of climate change” he warned.
The report echoes some of the data and warnings from experts in the last year: the average global temperature for the past five years was among the highest on record, and there is an increasing likelihood that temperatures will temporarily breach the threshold of 1.5° Celsius above the pre-industrial era, in the next five years. The picture painted by United in Science is bleak: even with ambitious action to slow greenhouse gas emissions, sea levels will continue to rise and threaten low-lying islands and coastal populations throughout the world.
The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, is scheduled to be held in the city of Glasgow, Scotland between 31 October and 12 November 2021. The pivotal meeting is expected to set the course of climate action for the next decade. The report also cites the conclusions of the most recent IPCC report: the scale of recent changes across the climate system are unprecedented over many centuries to many thousands of years, and it is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land.
Greenhouse gas emissions
Concentrations of the major greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2 O) continued to increase in 2020 and the first half of 2021.
Referring to the covid-19 pandemic, Prof. Taalas pointed out that despite an “estimated drop of 5.6 per cent” in emissions, “ the lifetime of carbon dioxide is so long,” therefore, “ this one year anomaly in emissions doesn't change the big picture”. While some improvements in air quality was observed, “we have returned more or less back to the 2019 emission levels,” he said.
According to WMO, reducing atmospheric methane (CH4) in the short term, could support the pledges of 193 Member States made in Paris. This measure does not reduce the need for strong, rapid and sustained reductions in CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Meanwhile, the UN Environment Program (UNEP), warns that five years after the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the emissions gap (the difference between where emissions are heading and where science indicate they should be in 2030) is as large as ever. Although the increasing number of countries committing to net-zero emission goals is encouraging, to remain feasible and credible, these goals urgently need to be reflected in near-term policy and in significantly more ambitious actions, the agency highlights.
A warmer future
The report explains that the annual global average temperature is likely to be at least 1 °C warmer than pre-industrial levels (defined as the 1850–1900 average) in each of the coming five years and is very likely to be within the range of 0.9 °C to 1.8 °C. There is also a 40% chance that the average temperature in one of the next five years, will be at least 1.5 °C warmer than pre-industrial levels. “We are heading towards 2 to 3 degrees warming instead of 1.5 to 2 degrees”, said Prof. Taalas “and it has been shown clearly that it would be beneficial for the welfare of us human beings and the welfare of the biosphere and the planet to reach even the lower limit of Paris Agreement, 1.5 degrees”. High latitude regions, and the Sahel, are likely to be wetter in the next five years, the report also warns.
Sea level rise is inevitable
Global sea levels rose 20 cm from 1900 to 2018, and at an accelerated rate from 2006 to 2018. Even if emissions are reduced to limit warming to well below 2 °C, the global average sea level would likely rise by 0.3–0.6 m by 2100 and could rise 0.3–3.1 m by 2300. According to Prof. Taalas “in the worst case we could see up to two meters of sea level rise by the end of this century if the melting of the Antarctic glacier happens in a speedier manner.” Adaptation to the rise will be essential, especially along low-lying coasts, small islands, deltas and coastal cities, the report explains.
World’s health also at risk
The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that rising temperatures are linked to increased heat-related mortality and work impairment, with an excess of 103 billion potential work hours lost globally in 2019 compared with those lost in 2000. Moreover, COVID-19 infections and climate hazards such as heatwaves, wildfires and poor air quality, combine to threaten human health worldwide, putting vulnerable populations at particular risk. According to the UN health agency, the COVID-19 recovery efforts should be aligned with national climate change and air quality strategies to reduce risks from cascading climate hazards, and gain health co-benefits.
The United in Science 2021 report, the third in a series, is coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), with input from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Global Carbon Project (GCP), the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) and the Met Office (UK). It presents the very latest scientific data and findings related to climate change to inform global policy and action.
ENDS
SHOTLIST OF THE EDITED STORY:
STORY : Climate Change Report WMO
TRT : 03:50’’
SOURCE : UNTV CH
LANGUAGE : ENGLISH
ASPECT RATIO : 16:9
DATELINE : 16 Sept 2021, GENEVA, Switzerland
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot, United Nations flag flying.
- Medium shot, Interior, Conference room.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Secretary-General World Meteorological Organization, Petteri Taalas: “Last year, we estimated that there was 5.6 per cent drop in emissions and since the lifetime of carbon dioxide is so long, this one-year anomaly in emissions doesn't change the big picture. We saw some improvements in air quality, these short-lived gases, which are affecting air quality. We saw positive evolution there. But now we have returned more or less back to the 2019 emission levels.”
- Medium shot of the speakers, view from behind.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Secretary-General World Meteorological Organization, Petteri Taalas: “We had this temperature anomaly in western Canada and the United States, where we were up to 15 degrees warmer temperatures than normally. And that led to a record breaking, forest fires and major health problems, especially amongst elderly people.”
- Medium shot of the audience and the speakers.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Secretary-General World Meteorological Organization, Petteri Taalas: “And also, there's a flooding event in western Germany that was very unusual and led also to almost 200 casualties. And because of climate change, these kind of events that used to happen every 100 years, they may happen nowadays every 20 years and in the future even more often. So the risk of these kind of events is growing because of climate change.”
- Medium shot of the speakers and the screen broadcasting the Zoom meeting.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Secretary-General World Meteorological Organization, Petteri Taalas: “We don't know what's going to happen to the Antarctic glacier, where we have the biggest mass of ice worldwide and in the worst case, we could see up to two meters of sea level rise by the end of this century if the melting of the Antarctic glacier happens in a speedier manner.”
- Medium shot of the audience and the cameras.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Secretary-General World Meteorological Organization, Petteri Taalas: “We are not yet on track towards the Paris 1.5 to 2 degrees’ limit, although positive things have started to happen and the political interest to mitigate climate change is clearly growing but to be successful in this effort, we have to start acting now. We cannot wait for decades to act, we have to start acting already in this decade.”
- Close shot from below of the speakers.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Secretary-General World Meteorological Organization, Petteri Taalas: “Now we are heading towards 2 to 3 degrees warming instead of 1.5 to 2 degrees, and it has been shown clearly that it would be beneficial for the welfare of us human beings and the welfare of the biosphere and the planet to reach even the lower limit of Paris Agreement, 1.5 degrees.”
- Close of a photographer taking pictures.
- Medium shot of the speakers.
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The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
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Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
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The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
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