Facts and figures
51% — the increase in atmospheric CO2 since pre-industrial levels
40 billion metric tonnes — the greenhouse gases that human activities (also known as anthropogenic carbon emissions) spew out globally every year
Just over half — of all CO2 emitted is absorbed by land and ocean “sinks” while the rest remains in the atmosphere where it helps cause climate change
2 billion metric tonnes — the amount of carbon removed from the atmosphere every year since 2000 by the world’s forests
0.01% million tonnes — the amount of CO2 removed using human technology (excluding nature-based projects such as planting trees), ie. more than a million times less than our current anthropogenic carbon emissions
– 25% — the decrease in annual carbon sinks from 2002 to 2020 recorded in EU forests as a result of logging, much of it for biomass
1.5°C — the 2015 Paris Agreement target whereby 195 nations pledged to help stop the world’s average surface temperature from increasing by no more than 1.5°C by the year 2100
50% — the chance that global warming will exceed 1.5°C consistently in about 7 years, according to Global Carbon Budget
February 2024 — the first time the 1.5°C threshold of global warming was breached for a full 12 months
421 parts per million of CO2 — the limit we must not exceed if we are to stick to the Paris Agreement’s benchmark 1.5°C of warming
419.3 parts per million — the average atmospheric CO2 level for 2023, a new record high
30% — the increase in acidity of the world’s oceans through CO2 absorption
74% — of all Swiss hardwood was burnt in 2022
6 to 8 times higher than normal — the CO2 emissions from Canadian wildfires in 2023 (global CO2 emissions from wildfires in 2023 were generally higher than average too)