Biggest increase in carbon emissions in 2024 has been confirmed by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), with 2024 showing a record rise of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. From 2023 to 2024, the global average concentration of CO2 rose by 3.5 parts per million – the largest increase since modern measurements started in 1957, according to the report, published ahead of next month’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Brazil.
At the same time the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has written to the UK government urging that the UK should be prepared to cope with weather extremes as a result of at least 2C of global warming by 2050. The country was “not yet adapted” to worsening weather extremes already occurring at current levels of warming, “let alone” what was expected to come, the CCC wrote.
As reported by Reuters, the Committee said they would advise that the UK prepare for climate change beyond the long-term temperature goal set out in the Paris Agreement. As the CCC outlined in their letter, a global warming level of 2C would have significant impact on the UK’s weather, with extreme events becoming more frequent and widespread. They said the UK could expect increased heatwaves, drought and flooding, and wildfire season would likely extend into autumn.
Meanwhile in an environmental impact assessment, developers of the Rosebank oil field said nearly 250 million tonnes of warming gas would be released from using oil products from the field if they got approval from the government. The amount would vary each year, but by comparison the UK’s annual emissions in 2024 were 371 million tonnes.
Whilst the field’s developer said its emissions were “not significant” considering the UK’s international climate commitments, opponents called it an “admission of the vast climate change damage” that the project will cause.
Rosebank is an oil and gas field which lies about 80 miles north-west of Shetland and is one of the largest undeveloped discoveries of fossil fuels in UK waters. In February the Court of Session in Edinburgh has declared that the consent granted for the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields was unlawful, marking a pivotal moment in the debate surrounding the UK’s energy policy and environmental responsibility. The judgment, handed down by Lord Ericht, came as the result of a legal challenge brought by environmental campaigners Greenpeace and Uplift, who argued that the projects had not undergone sufficient environmental assessments, particularly regarding their climate impact.
A decision by the UK government is still awaited.