CO2 emissions to hit record high

Global CO2 emissions set to hit a record high in 2024, worsening climate change risks, warns scientists at COP29.

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN:

Global carbon dioxide emissions, including those from burning fossil fuels, are set to hit a record high this year, pulling the world further off course from averting more destructive climate extremes, scientists said on Wednesday.

The Global Carbon Budget report, published during the UN's COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan, said global CO2 emissions are set to total 41.6 billion metric tonnes in 2024, up from 40.6 billion tonnes last year. The bulk of these emissions are from burning coal, oil and gas. Those emissions would total 37.4 billion tonnes in 2024, up by 0.8% in 2023, the report said.

The rest are from land use, a category that includes deforestation and forest fires. The report by more than 80 institutions was led by the University of Exeter in Britain. Countries agreed under the 2015 Paris Agreement to try to stop global temperatures rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius to avoid climate change's worst impacts.