Heat-trapping carbon dioxide and methane levels in the air last year spiked to record highs again

The levels of the crucial heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere reached historic highs last year, growing at near-record fast paces, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Carbon dioxide, the most important and abundant of the greenhouse gases caused by humans, rose in 2023 by the third highest amount in 65 years of record keeping, NOAA announced Friday. Scientists are also worried about the rapid rise in atmospheric levels of methane, a shorter-lived but more potent heat-trapping gas. Both jumped 5.5% over the past decade.

The 2.8 parts per million increase in carbon dioxide airborne levels from January 2023 to December, wasn’t as high as the jumps were in 2014 and 2015, but they were larger than every other year since 1959, when precise records started. Carbon dioxide’s average level for 2023 was 419.3 parts per million, up 50% from pre-industrial times.

garretble, (edited )

Get ready for in about ten years we’ll see — even more than right now — how much methane pulled from the earth is screwing us. By then I feel like national news sources will finally start talking about how wasteful methane is and how much is leaking (and not used just wasted) from pipes all day every day that isn’t accounted for. I,mean, I guess that’s exactly what this article is about. But we need more talk about this all the time.

Climate Town had a great video about this that came out last week.

youtu.be/K2oL4SFwkkw?si=3WvFyjvIkHwLOJ_d

SeaJ,

We need to stop using methane aka natural gas. There is really no need for any more expansion of carbon emitting energy sources since renewables even with batteries are the cheapest options.

nexusband,

Quite the contrary, we need to burn Methan and capture the produced carbon, regardless of how expensive it is, because Methan permiates stuff a lot better due to its smaller molecule size. Due to the significantly higher warming potential, we have to absolutely make sure there’s no Methan escaping anywhere - which it is on various natural things. And we have to capture the carbon and use existing infrastructure with synthetic fuels.

There is no time changing to different manufacturing processes.

SeaJ, (edited )

No. We need to stop getting methane out of the ground and using it as an energy source. You are right that it has a lot higher warming potential but you know what would prevent that warming potential? Not having it come out of the ground in the first place! You are also right that it permeates quite easily…including on its way to being used. Methane as an energy source is leaky as fuck and is about in par with coal for warming potential due to how fucking leaky it is.

Also, I said there should be no expansion of carbonemitting since there are cheaper and renewable alternatives. Why the fuck would we expand methane when it costs more and is more damaging. We also need to stop using our current sources of carbon emitting energy but that is a ways off.

Carbon capture, especially by oil companies, is currently a farce and does nothing but help oil companies put out a greenwashing marketing campaign while soaking up government subsidies to do it.

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