The amount of greenhouse gas emissions is exceeding an all-time high, with yearly emissions similar to 54 billion tons of carbon dioxide. This has led to a temperature rise of 1.14°C since the late 1800s, which is increasing rapidly at an unprecedented rate of over 0.2°C per decade. The maximum land surface temperatures have increased twice as fast, which directly contributes to the record high temperatures felt and the generation of wildfires.
A recent report co-authored by 50 experts across the globe called Indicators of Global Climate Change, highlighted the alarming findings of the latest changes in global emissions, temperatures, and energy flows in the Earth system. These insights can guide climate actions needed to meet international temperature goals, as we now have a remaining carbon budget of only about 250 billion tons for 1.5°C to be maintained and global society can emit to keep 50% chances of keeping the temperature rise within this goal. At the current rate, we will run out of this budget in the next six years.
This report has paved way for a unique initiative called Indicators of Global Climate Change that aims to accumulate all required elements to track human-induced warming yearly, capturing data on greenhouse gases and particulate pollution emissions and their warming and cooling impact to cause possible temperature changes. This is done using rigorous methods established by the comprehensive United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessments, which are trusted by the governments and their climate policy negotiators.
Climate data for all to use
The report details critical evidence concerning the changes in greenhouse gas emissions during the pandemic and quantifies temperature changes caused by human activity, highlighting the proximity of the world to surpassing the long-term goal of the Paris agreement of holding temperatures within 1.5°C. Our findings prove that the global warming rate is accelerating at the highest-ever rate of over 0.2°C per decade. We also aim to include the wider scientific community, make available the ability to track climate extremes like floods, wildfires, and heatwaves. Tracking the rise of daily maximum temperatures over land, which have already increased 1.74°C since the 1800s, two times faster than the average temperature rise, is our first step towards this objective.
Our initiative aims to build trust within the scientific community and policymakers. By presenting data that is transparent, timely and documented comprehensively for the various stakeholders to access, we leave responsibility for action on climate change to the lawful authorities instead of directing policymakers towards specific actions. Our motto of being “policy relevant” but not “policy prescriptive” aligns with the IPCC and aims to provide a genuine comprehension of the pace of climate change and its necessary actions.
As we produce a series of these reports over the coming years, depending on the choices made throughout society, we may either track continued high rates of emissions or warming, or a rapid emission decline, with warming levels beginning to stabilize. Our goal is to create a much wider audience, with government climate negotiators and the public being able to access data to facilitate necessary climate actions.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Citation: Greenhouse gas emissions are at an all-time high and Earth is warming faster than ever, says researcher (2023, June 11) retrieved 11 June 2023 from https://phys.org/news/2023-06-greenhouse-gas-emissions-all-time-high-1.html
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