Greenhouse gases reached record levels in 2006

November 24, 2007

Geneva -- Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide that contribute to global warming reached record levels in 2006, the World Meteorological Organization, http://www.wmo.ch/pages/index_en.html said yesterday.

The rise in carbon dioxide emissions is chiefly due to fossil-fuel combustion, such as coal power stations, the WMO said.

The concentration of carbon dioxide in the world's atmosphere rose 0.53 per cent from 2005, while nitrous oxide was up 0.25 per cent, the WMO said in its latest Greenhouse Gas Bulletin.

Carbon dioxide remains the most important of the greenhouse gases, making up 63 per cent of the total, and over the past five years it has been responsible for 91 per cent of the increase in global warming, the WMO said.

AFP

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