Maldives’ Suggests New Financial And Trade Instruments To Help SIDS Fight Climate Change – Analysis

Photo Credit: Maldives Presidential Press Service. Retrieved from eurasiareview.com

At the COP29 summit held in Baku, Azerbaijan on November 13, a grim picture of the effects of climate change emerged. As the delegates shared their thoughts, scientists said that despite all the talk about mitigating climate change, another bump upward had occurred in greenhouse gas emissions.

Euro News said that in 2024, the world is on track to put 37.4 billion metric tonnes of the main heat-trapping gas into the atmosphere. It’s a 0.8% increase from 2023. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most abundant and prevalent “greenhouse gas” emitted by human activity.

While carbon dioxide is essential for keeping the Earth’s surface temperature above freezing, more of it intensifies the “greenhouse effect” which is a rise in global temperatures. Once emitted, carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for thousands of years, with 40% remaining after 100 years.

Methane is another powerful but shorter-lasting greenhouse gas. Methane is the main component of natural gas. In the first two decades after it’s released, methane is more than 80 times more effective at warming the climate system than carbon dioxide.