‘New era of climate change reality’ - Emissions hit symbolic threshold which could last generations

Greenhouse gases rose to a symbolic milestone in 2015, taking climate change into a new phase which could last generations even if governments act to curb manmade global warming, the UN World Meteorological Organisation has warned.

Globally averaged concentrations of carbon dioxide, the main manmade greenhouse gas, reached 400.0 parts per million (ppm) in the atmosphere for the first time on record and were 44% above levels before the Industrial Revolution, it said. The relentless rise contrasts with accords by almost 200 governments to start reining in emissions, led by the Paris Agreement last year to phase out fossil fuels in favour of renewable energy in the second half of the century.

“The year 2015 ushered in a new era of optimism and climate action with the Paris climate change agreement. But it will also make history as marking a new era of climate change reality with record high greenhouse gas concentrations,” the World Meteorological Organisation secretary-general Petteri Taalas said in a statement.