The United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has released its latest report on global greenhouse gas emissions, and — how do we say this without sounding deliberately alarmist? — it’s looking extremely bleak out there, folks.
The report found that the global average concentration of carbon dioxide spiked by 3.5 parts per million between 2023 and 2024, the biggest increase since modern measurements began in 1957. Even between 2011 and 2020, the average increase was a mere 2.4 parts per million per year.
The results paint a dire picture of our planet’s future, highlighting once again our species’ devastating environmental footprint.
“The heat trapped by CO2 and other greenhouse gases is turbo-charging our climate and leading to more extreme weather,” said WMO deputy secretary-general Ko Barrett in a statement. “Reducing emissions is therefore essential not just for our climate but also for our economic security and community well-being.”
“Sustaining and expanding greenhouse gas monitoring are critical to support such efforts,” added Greenhouse Gas Bulletin coordinator Oksana Tarasova.
The news comes after scientists found earlier this year that meeting the Paris climate agreement goal of restricting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius may no longer be feasible, putting us in uncharted territory — and likely doomed to a future filled with more extreme weather, from severe wildfires and deadly heatwaves to devastating storms and destructive floods.
One major issue is that rising global temperatures are causing the Earth’s oceans to absorb less CO2. Even major land masses are unable to take in as much of the gas as before, resulting in a higher potential for severe and more persistent droughts.
“There is concern that terrestrial and ocean CO2 sinks are becoming less effective, which will increase the amount of CO2 that stays in the atmosphere, thereby accelerating global warming,” Tarasova explained. “Sustained and strengthened greenhouse gas monitoring is critical to understanding these loops.”
The record growth in CO2 concentration between 2023 and 2024 was likely due to the major wildfire emissions and a strong El Niño climate pattern leading to major reductions in land and ocean CO2 uptake, the WMO noted.
It’s all cumulative. CO2 tends to have an extremely long lifetime in the Earth’s atmosphere, which means that the planet will feel lasting impacts for hundreds of years.
Beyond CO2, concentrations of methane and nitrous oxide have also increased to record levels, the report shows. In 2024, global methane average concentrations reached 338 parts per billion, an “increase of 25 percent over the pre-industrial level,” per the WMO.
How the world will act in light of these devastating numbers remains to be seen. For one, the United States, the second biggest greenhouse gas emissions contributor after China, is actively putting the brakes on regulations to curb pollution and is instead nominating and appointing people with ties to the fossil fuel sector.
Earlier this year, president Donald Trump scrapped a landmark finding that only allowed the Environmental Protection Agency to set emissions standards, effectively kneecapping the government’s ability to fight climate change.
The Trump administration is also actively attempting to obscure the climate crisis by undercutting our ability to monitor the rapidly deteriorating situation. The White House has focused its efforts on gutting important Earth sciences research, for instance, instructing NASA to scrap two satellites that provide farmers with detailed information about the distribution of planet-warming greenhouse gases including CO2.
Meanwhile, China’s doubling down on clean power generation has caused its CO2 emissions to fall for the first time ever this year.
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