Climate Facts: Transportation accounts for 20% of global carbon emissions, says UN

The complexities of climate change and its associated jargons can be difficult to understand.

TheCable’s quick climate facts will help demystify these concepts through easy-to-understand and straightforward explanations.

Here are some to keep at the tip of your fingers:

• The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) says the annual increase of methane was 18 parts per billion (ppb) from 2020 to 2021. This is the largest increase on record, according to the organisation.
• The organisation said methane emissions come from both human and natural sources, and noted that wetlands are one of the biggest contributors of the greenhouse gas’ natural sources.
• According to WMO, ocean acidification is an impact of rising carbon dioxide concentration.  The WMO explained that the pH of the ocean decreases while its acidity increases. As a result, the ocean’s capacity to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere also declines.
• The United Nations said the transportation industry produces around 20 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions.
• According to the UN, over 90 percent of people breathe unhealthy levels of air pollution, resulting from the burning of fossil fuels.