Pavel Kabat, WMO Chief Scientist and Research Director, speaks about the release of WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin with details on annual average concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, during a press conference, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2018. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

Pavel Kabat, WMO Chief Scientist and Research Director, speaks about the release of WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin with details on annual average concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, during a press conference, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2018. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

GENEVA (AP) — A top U.N. scientist on Thursday shrugged off an online quip from U.S. President Donald Trump that questioned global warming, saying a U.S. government report will show the “fundamental impacts of climate change on the U.S. continent.”

Officials at the World Meteorological Organization also said environmentally minded efforts by the state of California, in parts of the financial sector, among grassroots activists and others will have more of an impact to help the fight against climate change than “political disturbance” and “discourse” will impede it.

The science, they said, will have the last word.

Some of that science comes Friday in a new U.S. federal climate change assessment report, from agencies including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Department of Energy.

“It’s very interesting what you will see tomorrow,” said Pavel Kabat, WMO’s chief scientist. “That is a major report coming supported by all agencies ... under the administration of President Trump ranging from NOAA to NASA, from NASA to DOE, showing the fundamental impacts of climate change on the U.S. continent.”

Kabat was speaking at a news conference to present WMO’s latest greenhouse gas bulletin, which said levels in the atmosphere climbed to a record last year. In a statement, WMO secretary-general Petteri Taalas warned “the window of opportunity” to act against climate change has nearly closed.

WMO says globally averaged concentrations of carbon dioxide reached 405.5 parts per million in 2017, up slightly from the previous year and from 400.1 in 2015. Concentrations of other heat-trapping gases, like methane and nitrous oxide, also rose.

The findings come ahead of next month’s meeting of world leaders in Katowice, Poland, for the annual global climate summit where they hope to find ways to implement the 2015 Paris climate accord that aims to keep global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, which lies about 2,000 kilometers northeast of Australia, is one of those countries already suffering severe effects of climate change.

Its foreign minister, Ralph Regenvanu, said his government is exploring the possibility of suing fossil fuel companies responsible for most man-made greenhouse gas emissions over the damage they have caused.

“By hiding what they knew and misrepresenting the dangers of unabated fossil fuel use, the fossil fuel industry and supportive governments protected their high-emissions profits and obstructed the changes needed to prevent or at least minimize the impacts of climate change,” he told a ‘virtual’ summit of nations that are vulnerable to climate change.

WMO’s Taalas said the last time Earth had such high levels of carbon dioxide concentration was 3-5 million years ago.

Without cuts in greenhouse gases, Taalas said, “climate change will have increasingly destructive and irreversible impacts on life on Earth.”

That came just hours after Trump, who once called global warming a “hoax” and has pulled the United States out of the Paris climate agreement, floated a new question about climate change on Twitter: “Brutal and Extended Cold Blast could shatter ALL RECORDS - Whatever happened to Global Warming?”

Despite that, Kabat cited a “global transformation” underway in thinking about global warming, saying “the point of no return has been passed.” He said efforts by some industries, in civil society and by local officials could “overtake” governmental agreements or statements on the issue.

“I think on the longer timescale we are not that much worried about the current political disturbance,” he said.

“Despite the statements of President Trump, there is still a very concrete and specific movement by the agencies under the administration to actually make the case of action against climate change,” Kabat said.

___

Frank Jordans contributed from Berlin.</s>The World Meteorological Organization says globally-averaged concentrations of carbon-dioxide reached 405.5 parts per million in 2017, up slightly from the previous year and from 400.1 in 2015. Concentrations of other heat-trapping gases, like methane and nitrous oxide, also rose.</s>Greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere reached a record not seen since sea levels were 10 meters to 20 meters higher than they are now, the World Meteorological Organization said in a report.

The UN organization says globally averaged concentrations of carbon-dioxide reached 405.5 parts per million in 2017, up slightly from the previous year and from 400.1 in 2015. Concentrations of other heat-trapping gases, like methane and nitrous oxide, also rose.

Concentrations of carbon dioxide and other Earth-warming gases rose last year and are 41 per cent higher than in 1990, driving a long-term increase in the global temperature, the organization said.

The last time the Earth had similar concentration of CO2 was 3 million to 5 million years ago, when the temperature was 2-3 degrees Celsius warmer and and sea levels were at least 10 meters higher. A sea level rise of that magnitude would wipe out low-lying island nations and much of Manhattan.

The findings add to pressure on envoys from almost 200 nations gathering next month in Poland to discuss ways of reining in climate change. The WMO said higher CO2 concentrations are melting ice caps and leading to more violent weather events, which the Bank of England Wednesday said were responsible for a record $140 billion in insurance losses in 2017.

“The science is clear,” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement on Thursday. “Without rapid cuts in CO2 and other greenhouse gases, climate change will have increasingly destructive and irreversible impacts on life on Earth. The window of opportunity for action is almost closed.”

Concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rose 0.5 per cent from 2016. Among the increased emissions, there has been a resurgence of CFC-11, a supposedly regulated greenhouse gas that depletes ozone.

The UN goal is hold the global average temperature increase to well below 2 degrees Celsius, which would still represent the quickest shift in the climate since the last ice age ended some 10,000 years ago. A report earlier this year by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said that net emissions must reach zero by 2050 to keep temperatures increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius, which is the goal of many developing nations.

Carbon dioxide “remains in the atmosphere for hundreds of years and in the oceans for even longer,” WMO Deputy Secretary-General Elena Manaenkova said in a report being presented to the United Nations on Thursday. “Every fraction of a degree of global warming matters, and so does every part per million of greenhouse gases.”

With files from the Associated Press
• The clock is ticking to stop catastrophic global warming, top climate scientists say
• Climate scientists are struggling to find the right words for very bad news
• What’s really in that ‘dire’ new IPCC climate report</s>GENEVA: The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere hit a new record last year with emissions showing no sign of slowing down, the UN World Meteorological Organization said on Thursday. The annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin dashed hopes for a slowdown in emissions of CO2 — the byproduct of burning fossil fuels that scientists say is the main cause of the greenhouse effect causing global warming.

 “The science is clear. Without rapid cuts in CO2 and other greenhouse gases, climate change will have increasingly destructive and irreversible impacts on life on Earth. The window of opportunity for action is almost closed,” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement.

 The report found CO2 levels of 405.5 parts per million in 2017, up from 403.3 ppm in 2016.

 The rate of increase is in line with the average growth rate over the last decade, which was the fastest rate for 55 million years, the WMO said. Carbon dioxide levels have risen 46 per cent since the pre-industrial era, around 1750.

 “The most alarming thing is that… half of the increase from pre-industrial times comes within the last 30 years,” said Oksana Tarasova, head of WMO’s atmospheric environment research.

 The rise was expected to be much lower in 2017, because the previous year saw “El Nino” weather conditions, which are normally followed by a big slowdown in the growth of CO2 concentrations.

 UN climate talks in Poland next month are meant to agree a rule book for the 2015 Paris agreement on climate change, which set a sweeping goal of ending the fossil fuel era this century.

 UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has sent a letter to all states, telling them they have legal obligations under international human rights law to prevent climate change and try to mitigate its effects. — Reuters</s>GENEVA: The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere hit a new record of 405.5 parts per million in 2017, up from 403.3 ppm in 2016, with no sign of reversal in the trend, the World Meteorological Organization said in its annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin.

“The science is clear. Without rapid cuts in CO2 and other greenhouse gases, climate change will have increasingly destructive and irreversible impacts on life on Earth. The window of opportunity for action is almost closed,” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement.

The WMO said the rate of increase was in line with the average growth rate over the last decade.</s>GENEVA – The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere hit a new record last year with emissions showing no sign of slowing down, the U.N. World Meteorological Organization said on Thursday.carbon dioxide

READ MORE: Reality check: Maxime Bernier says CO2 isn’t a pollutant. Climate scientists say he’s wrong

The annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin dashed hopes for a slowdown in emissions of CO2 – the byproduct of burning fossil fuels that scientists say is the main cause of the greenhouse effect causing climate change.

“The science is clear. Without rapid cuts in CO2 and other greenhouse gases, climate change will have increasingly destructive and irreversible impacts on life on Earth,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas in a statement.

WATCH: Trudeau says critics of carbon tax want to ‘make pollution free again’

The report found CO2 levels of 405.5 parts per million in 2017, up from 403.3 ppm in 2016.

The rate of increase is in line with the average growth rate over the last decade, which was the fastest rate for 55 million years, the WMO said. Carbon dioxide levels have risen 46 per cent since the pre-industrial era, around 1750.

READ MORE: Rachel Notley unveils carbon tax break for oil and gas drilling companies

“The most alarming thing is that … half of the increase from pre-industrial times comes within the last 30 years,” said Oksana Tarasova, head of WMO’s atmospheric environment research.

The rise was expected to be much lower in 2017, because the previous year saw “El Nino” weather conditions, which are normally followed by a big slowdown in the growth of CO2 concentrations.

U.N. climate talks in Poland next month are meant to agree to a rule book for the 2015 Paris agreement on climate change, which set a sweeping goal of ending the fossil fuel era this century.

U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has sent a letter to all states, telling them they have legal obligations under international human rights law to prevent climate change and try to mitigate its effects.

WATCH: Trump says California wildfires have not changed his mind on climate change

The United States is the only country to have announced its intention to withdraw from the Paris accord, and President Donald Trump has cast doubt on the science underpinning it.

“Brutal and Extended Cold Blast could shatter ALL RECORDS – Whatever happened to Global Warming?,” Trump tweeted on Wednesday.

READ MORE: Trump just hinted that cold weather disproves global warming. Here’s why he’s wrong

WMO chief scientist Pavel Kabat said unusually cold weather was consistent with climate change.

“On the longer timescale we are not that much worried about the current political disturbance,” he said.

— Reporting by Tom Miles; editing by Stephanie Nebehay and Robin Pomeroy</s>The amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere hit a new record last year with emissions showing no sign of slowing down, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.

The annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin dashed hopes for a slowdown in emissions of CO2 —the by-product of burning fossil fuels that scientists say is the main cause of the greenhouse effect causing global warming.

“The science is clear. Without rapid cuts in CO2 and other greenhouse gases, climate change will have increasingly destructive and irreversible impacts on life on earth. The window of opportunity for action is almost closed,” WMO secretary general Petteri Taalas said in a statement.

The report found CO2 levels of 405.5 parts per million (ppm) in 2017, up from 403.3 ppm in 2016.

The rate of increase is in line with the average growth rate over the last decade, which was the fastest rate for 55 million years, the WMO said. Carbon dioxide levels have risen 46% since the pre-industrial era, around 1750.

“The most alarming thing is that ... half of the increase from pre-industrial times comes within the last 30 years,” said Oksana Tarasova, head of WMO’s atmospheric environment research.

The rise was expected to be much lower in 2017, because the previous year saw “El Niño” weather conditions, which are normally followed by a big slowdown in the growth of CO2 concentrations.

UN climate talks in Poland next month are meant to agree a rule book for the 2015 Paris agreement on climate change, which set a sweeping goal of ending the fossil fuel era this century.

UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has sent a letter to all states, telling them they have legal obligations under international human rights law to prevent climate change and try to mitigate its effects.

The US is the only country to have announced its intention to withdraw from the Paris accord, and President Donald Trump has cast doubt on the science underpinning it.

“Brutal and Extended Cold Blast could shatter ALL RECORDS-Whatever happened to Global Warming?”, President Donald Trump tweeted on Wednesday.

WMO chief scientist Pavel Kabat said unusually cold weather was consistent with climate change.

“On the longer timescale we are not that much worried about the current political disturbance,” he said.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.</s>Smoke billows from the chimneys of Belchatow Power Station, Europe's biggest coal-fired power plant, in this May 7, 2009 file photo. REUTERS/Peter Andrews/Files

GENEVA (Reuters) – The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere hit a new record of 405.5 parts per million in 2017, up from 403.3 ppm in 2016, with no sign of reversal in the trend, the World Meteorological Organization said in its annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin.

“The science is clear. Without rapid cuts in CO2 and other greenhouse gases, climate change will have increasingly destructive and irreversible impacts on life on Earth. The window of opportunity for action is almost closed,” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement.

The WMO said the rate of increase was in line with the average growth rate over the last decade.</s>The U.N.'s weather organization says greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere climbed to a new record level last year, warning that "the window of opportunity" to act against climate change is nearly closed.

The World Meteorological Organization says globally-averaged concentrations of carbon-dioxide reached 405.5 parts per million in 2017, up slightly from the previous year and from 400.1 in 2015. Concentrations of other heat-trapping gases, like methane and nitrous oxide, also rose.

WMO says it's the first time that consolidated figures for 2017 have been available.

WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said the last time Earth had such high levels of CO2 concentration was at least 3 million years ago.

Without cuts in greenhouse gases, he said, "climate change will have increasingly destructive and irreversible impacts on life on Earth."</s>The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere hit a new record last year with emissions showing no sign of slowing down, the UN World Meteorological Organisation said on Thursday.

The annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin dashed hopes for a slowdown in emissions of CO2 - the byproduct of burning fossil fuels that scientists say is the main cause of the greenhouse effect causing global warming.

“The science is clear. Without rapid cuts in CO2 and other greenhouse gases, climate change will have increasingly destructive and irreversible impacts on life on Earth. The window of opportunity for action is almost closed,” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement.

The report found CO2 levels of 405.5 parts per million in 2017, up from 403.3 ppm in 2016.

The rate of increase is in line with the average growth rate over the last decade, which was the fastest rate for 55 million years, the WMO said. Carbon dioxide levels have risen 46 percent since the pre-industrial era, around 1750.

"The most alarming thing is that ... half of the increase from pre-industrial times comes within the last 30 years," said Oksana Tarasova, head of WMO's atmospheric environment research.
The World Meteorological Organization reports that average global carbon dioxide concentrations rose to 405.5 parts per million in 2017. They say this level was not seen since at least 3 million years ago.