Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions over the last 70 years have been the highest in the history of mankind. The result is that we currently have the highest concentration of CO2 in 800,000 years. This information was published by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on October 30th.

According to the WMO, population growth, the use of land for agriculture, deforestation, industrialization, and the consumption of energy from fossil fuel sources have all contributed to the increase of CO2 and other polluting gases.

Global warming

Since 1750, factories have burned coal and petroleum by-products to run their machines. The process increases CO2 emissions, causes the atmosphere to retain more heat from the sun (greenhouse gas effect), and raises the average temperature on Earth (global warming).

To prevent a global crisis, more than 100 countries signed a treaty (the Paris Agreement) in which they committed to not increasing CO2 emissions. The agreement was recently undermined by the United States’ exit.

Questions – level III

– What new information has been published by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)?
– What is the Paris Agreement?