GLOBAL GREENHOUSE GAS MONITORING INFRASTRUCTURE - ENVIRONMENT

News: UN takes new measures to fight climate change

 

What's in the news?

       The U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization has come up with a new Global Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Infrastructure that aims to provide better ways of measuring planet-warming pollution and help inform policy choices.

       The WMO's new platform will integrate space-based and surface-based observing systems, and seek to clarify uncertainties about where greenhouse gas emissions end up.

       Further approval will be needed from the World Meteorological Congress – the WMO's top decision-making body – in May.

 

WMO observation:

       The increase in CO2 levels from 2020 to 2021 was higher than the average growth rate over the past decade, and methane saw the biggest year-on-year jump since measurements started.

       The three major greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. Of those, CO2 accounts for around 66% of the warming effect on the climate.

       There are still uncertainties, especially regarding the role in the carbon cycle of the ocean, the land biosphere and the permafrost areas.

 

Importance of the Initiative:

       This will provide vital information and support for implementation of the Paris Agreement.

       Useful for the poor countries: This monitoring mechanism will be very useful for the developing and less developed countries to mitigate climate change.

       Coordinated approach: This global level initiative will be a better tool for coordinated approach to climate change mitigation measures.

 

About Paris agreement:

       It is a multinational agreement that was signed as part of the UNFCCC with the intention of reducing and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.

       The 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change saw countries agree to cap global warming at "well below" two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above levels measured between 1850 and 1900 – and 1.5C if possible.

 

Other UN Initiatives for the Climate Change Mitigation:

       United Nations Framework Convention Climate Change: It is the primary multilateral treaty governing actions to combat climate change through adaptation and mitigation efforts directed at control of emission of Green House Gases (GHGs) that cause global warming.

       United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity: The UNCBD is a United Nations treaty that is responsible for the conservation of Biological Diversity around the world.

       United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification: It is a UN treaty to reduce the desertification of lands caused mainly by climate change.