Greenhouse gas concentrations hit a record last year 2020 and the world is "way off track" on capping rising temperatures, the United Nations says, ahead of climate talks in Glasgow aimed at averting dangerous levels of global warming.
A report by the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO) showed carbon dioxide levels surged to 413.2 parts per million in 2020, rising more than the average rate over the last decade despite a temporary dip in emissions during COVID-19 lockdowns.
WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said the current rate of increase in heat-trapping gases would result in temperature rises "far in excess" of the 2015 Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average this century.
"We are way off track," he said.
"We need to revisit our industrial, energy and transport systems and whole way of life."
Mr Taalas then called for a "dramatic increase" in commitments at the COP26 conference beginning on Sunday.
The Glasgow climate talks have been labelled the world's last best chance to cap global warming at the 1.5-2 degrees Celsius upper limit set out in the Paris Agreement.
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