Rabat — A record jump in carbon dioxide levels is heightening global climate alarm.
A new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a UN affiliate, shows that carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere has risen by about 3.5 parts per million (ppm) from 2023 to 2024, so that the global average carbon dioxide level now falls at 423.9 ppm.
Last year’s increase marks the largest annual rise since systematic measurements began in 1957.
The UN has sounded the alarm and pleaded with countries, particularly those who have signed the international climate resolution known as the Paris Agreement, to take concrete steps towards meeting their climate commitments.
Such steps include rapid slashing of emissions. Last year’s spike is attributed not just to natural causes, like wildfires, but also to extensive fossil fuel combustion and the overuse of natural carbon sinks—like forests and oceans. As a result, such sinks can no longer absorb as much carbon dioxide as they did in years prior.
“We rely on natural systems to help us offset our impacts, and those systems are so stressed that they start reducing their help,” WMO senior scientific officer Oksana Tarasova said at a briefing in Geneva.
Scientists now warn that such a rapid increase tightens the window for meeting the temperature goals under the Paris Agreement, especially the aim to limit warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. The UN now says that, if no extreme measures are taken, the world may warm up by 3.0 °C.
“The heat trapped by [carbon dioxide] and other greenhouse gases is turbo-charging our climate and leading to more extreme weather,” said WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett.
Such extreme weather could be devastating for people across the world—from water-starved farmers in Morocco to wildfire-prone metropolises in the United States to the many workers whose livelihoods depend on agriculture.
What does this mean for Morocco?
Much of Morocco is already desert. Parts of the country have actually languished under a drought for several years already. Ongoing desertification and water stress make it a hotspot for climate impacts.
On the policy front, Morocco has already made significant strides; in 2021, Morocco announced goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 18.3 percent by 2030, and since then, it has enacted infrastructure reforms and launched renewable energy projects to meet those goals. In 2024, Morocco actually took 8th in the Global Climate Index—meaning it led Africa and the Arab world when it came to climate sustainability.
But challenges remain. In that same Global Climate Index, no country, including Morocco, achieved a “very high” rating when it came to meeting climate goals.
Meanwhile, Morocco remains reliant on coal and imported fossil fuels. According to the Climate Action Tracker, its emissions are likely to flatten, rather than sharply decline, under current policies.
As pressure on the topic comes to the Moroccan government from the UN, it also comes from the people.
GenZ 212 protests continue across Morocco’s major cities. They have demanded that the government reform infrastructure, with attention to water provision and support for rural areas.
