Greenhouse gas level at record high, climate goals 'way off track'

World Meteorological Organization report shows that carbon dioxide levels surged to 413.2 parts per million in 2020, rising more than the average rate over the last decade.

Geneva/Glasgow: Greenhouse gas concentrations hit a record last year and the world is "way off track" on climate goals, the UN weather agency said on Monday (October 25), showing the scale of the task facing governments scrambling to avert dangerous levels of warming.

A report by the World Meteorological Organization showed that carbon dioxide levels surged to 413.2 parts per million in 2020, rising more than the average rate over the last decade despite a temporary dip in emissions during COVID-19 lockdowns.

Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said that the current rate of increase in heat-trapping gases would result in temperature rises "far in excess" of the 2015 Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average this century.