The Earth’s atmosphere experienced its most significant annual increase in carbon dioxide levels on record between 2023 and 2024, as announced by the World Meteorological Organization on Thursday.
For over fifty years, human activities, primarily the combustion of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas for energy, have steadily pushed carbon dioxide concentrations upward. This relentless increase in CO2 and other greenhouse gases has rapidly warmed our planet, trapping solar energy close to the Earth’s surface. In fact, last year stood out as the hottest year in recorded history.
The organization, which serves as the United Nations’ weather and climate agency, confirmed that human-caused emissions were the primary factor behind this unprecedented rise in carbon dioxide levels, the largest recorded since modern measurements began in 1957.
However, the agency also highlighted that a noticeable increase in wildfire-related emissions likely contributed to this surge. Furthermore, a reduced capacity of land and oceans to absorb carbon dioxide played a role. Severe droughts and extensive forest fires can severely impair the ability of soil and plants to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, while warming ocean temperatures diminish seawater’s effectiveness in storing the gas.
Carbon dioxide, once released, can linger in the atmosphere for centuries if not absorbed by natural sinks like land or oceans, continuing to affect the climate long after its initial release.
Ko Barrett, the World Meteorological Organization’s deputy secretary-general, emphasized in a statement that “the heat trapped by CO2 and other greenhouse gases is turbocharging our climate and leading to more extreme weather.” She added, “Reducing emissions is therefore essential not just for our climate but also for our economic security and community well-being.”
Since 1960, humanity has collectively discharged approximately 500 billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere. Although China currently leads as the world’s largest emitter, historical data from the entire industrial era shows the United States as the top cumulative contributor.
Under President Trump’s administration, the United States has shown a withdrawal from climate data collection and reporting. The Environmental Protection Agency, for instance, failed to meet its annual deadline in April to submit data on planet-warming pollution to the U.N. Later, in September, the agency declared it would cease requiring thousands of industrial facilities to report their greenhouse gas emissions. During his U.N. General Assembly address that same month, Mr. Trump criticized global allies and downplayed the severe threats posed by climate change.
President Trump’s proposed budget included plans to defund critical carbon dioxide monitoring observatories and satellites operated by federal bodies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA. Adding to these actions, the National Institute of Standards and Technology halted grant funding in June for a significant emissions monitoring initiative spanning multiple American cities.
The Trump administration also initiated efforts to revoke the “endangerment finding,” a crucial scientific determination that establishes greenhouse gases as a threat to public health, forming the basis for regulating industrial polluters.