The 26th edition of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26, will be held in Glasgow, Scotland in November 2020. The pre-COP will take place in Milan, Italy.
Greenhouse gas emissions hit a new record in 2014
Greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, i.e. carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), hit a new record. This is what the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) revealed in its latest “Greenhouse Gas Bulletin”: between 1990 and 2014 there was a 36% increase in radiative forcing (warming effect on our climate), due to greenhouse gases
Greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, i.e. carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), hit a new record. This is what the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) revealed in its latest “Greenhouse Gas Bulletin”: between 1990 and 2014 there was a 36% increase in radiative forcing (warming effect on our climate), due to greenhouse gases generated by man-related activities.
“Every year we report a new record in greenhouse gas concentrations,” said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud. “Every year we say that time is running out. We have to act now to slash greenhouse gas emissions if we are to have a chance to keep the increase in temperatures to manageable levels.”
In 2014, as reported by the Organisation, atmospheric concentrations of CO2 reached 397.7 parts per million (ppm). In the Northern hemisphere CO2 concentrations crossed the symbolically significant 400 ppm level in 2014 spring. “We will soon be living with globally averaged CO2 levels above 400 parts per million as a permanent reality,” Said Mr Jarraud. “It means hotter global temperatures, more extreme weather events like heatwaves and floods, melting ice, rising sea levels and increased acidity of the oceans. This is happening now and we are moving into uncharted territory at a frightening speed”.
Just a few weeks ahead of the Paris climate conference (COP21), the scientific community keeps warning that the global climate is experiencing a risky trend. Every day we read news linked to it, such as that about the Europe’s southernmost glacier melting, or the typhoon that hit Yemen, in the Arabic peninsula.
All these events should push us to raise our voice to ask governments to reach binding deals to curb global warming. The civil society has always had the power to change the situation, and this involves us all.
Siamo anche su WhatsApp. Segui il canale ufficiale LifeGate per restare aggiornata, aggiornato sulle ultime notizie e sulle nostre attività.
Quest'opera è distribuita con Licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 4.0 Internazionale.
Thanks to activists, the voice of the world’s peoples resounded through the COP25 like an alarm bell. Governments didn’t reach the results they demanded, but their cries and messages were stronger than ever, reaching even those who weren’t in Madrid.
Climate change poses a risk for millions. However, women are the most vulnerable to its negative consequences: a few simple considerations by the Italian Climate Network help us perceive the global implications of this.
The COP25 ended two days late and with very few steps ahead made. Climate negotiations in 2020 will be an uphill battle as political will clearly seems to be lacking, once again.
The last ten years have been the most “exceptional” and hottest decade ever, with extreme weather hitting people and ecosystems harder and more frequently. 2019 is also on course to becoming the second or third hottest year since records began.
Unite Behind the Science: this was the title of the conference held at the COP25 on 10 December. Greta Thunberg’s presence filled the arena, but this time it was scientists’ turn to speak.
25,000 delegates meet for the COP25 from 2 to 13 December. What can we hope this UN climate change conference, whose venue was changed from Santiago de Chile to Madrid, will achieve?
100 eminent people from all over the world, including Vandana Shiva, Naomi Klein and Noam Chomsky, have signed an open letter after the disappointing results of the COP24. A call-to-arms for climate against world leaders’ indifference.
The outcome of the COP24 in Katowice left many unsatisfied. Greta Thunberg, a young Swedish environmental activist, gave a harsh, heartfelt speech addressing world leaders.