WMO Exec Council approves G3W plan to strengthen monitoring of heat-trapping gases

London, Jun 15 (PTI) The World Meteorological Organisation's Executive Council has approved a Global Greenhouse Gas Watch (G3W) implementation plan to strengthen the monitoring of heat-trapping gases which are driving climate change and to inform climate mitigation.

The initial focus will be on the three most important greenhouse gases (GHGs) influenced by human activities, namely carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O).

The greenhouse effect is when GHGs in the atmosphere trap heat from the sun and keep the Earth warm. GHG emissions from human activities provided the majority contribution towards global warming of 1.1 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial era.

The implementation plan envisages a staged approach, starting with a pre-operational phase from 2024-2027. The system will be built based on the long-term efforts of the Geneva-based WMO in the coordination of greenhouse gas observations and research.

The Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA), during the annual UN climate change conference in Dubai last year, had recognised that the WMO’s G3W initiative is intended to improve the quantification of both natural and anthropogenic greenhouse gas sources and sinks and to complement emission inventories.

A WMO statement on Tuesday said the (G3W) implementation plan takes into consideration both human and natural influences on the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

“Global Greenhouse Gas Watch is the result of a large teamwork that spans over several years and has strong support of the greenhouse gas science community,” Greg Carmichael, Chair of the Global Atmosphere Watch Programme, told the Executive Council.

The Global Greenhouse Gas Watch (G3W) aims to support WMO member countries in mitigation actions undertaken to implement the Paris Agreement as global measures to combat the impacts of climate change.

The 2022 to 2024 increase in Levels of CO2 measured by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego was the largest two-year jump in the May peak in the NOAA record.

Pointing to this increase, Gianpaolo Balsamo, G3W Director, said: “The CO2 concentrations are well measured at the baseline observatories but to provide actionable information, more accurate and timely global maps of CO2 fluxes and concentrations are necessary at monthly frequency and with sufficiently resolved spatial details.” The G3W implementation plan provides exactly for this and envisages an operational surface-based network and dedicated satellites to help quantify where and when emissions occur.

G3W will aim at providing actionable information assisting the countries in their Long-Term-Low greenhouse gas Emission Development Strategies that are providing the long-term horizon for the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the country-wise action plans to combat the adverse impact of changing climate as per the provisions of the Paris Agreement, adopted by 196 Parties at the annual climate change conference in 2015. PTI NPK AKJ NSA NSA