World carbon emissions hit record

World carbon dioxide pollution levels are accelerating and reached a record high in 2012, the UN weather agency says.
By The Newsroom
Published 6th Nov 2013, 17:20 BST

The heat-trapping gas, pumped into the air by fossil fuels, was measured at 393.1 parts per million last year, up 2.2ppm from the previous year.

The Geneva-based World Meteorological Organisation said this is far beyond the 350ppm that some scientists and environmental groups promote as the absolute upper limit for a safe level.

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As the main gas blamed for global warming, carbon dioxide’s 2012 increase outpaced the past decade’s average annual increase of 2.02ppm.

The world’s carbon dioxide level is expected to cross the 400ppm threshold by 2016. That level has already been reached at some individual measurement stations.

Trapping heat just like in a greenhouse, carbon dioxide accounts for three-quarters of the planet’s gases that scientists say are causing climate change.