World reportedly set to miss Paris climate targets due to nitrous oxide increase

A new global report highlights the urgent need to reduce nitrous oxide emissions, as failing to do so threatens the Paris climate agreement's goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

A new global report released on Thursday states that not reducing nitrous oxide emissions will make it impossible to achieve the main goal of the Paris climate agreement, which is to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Nitrous oxide, the third most common greenhouse gas and a major ozone-depleting agent, is the focus of the Global Nitrous Oxide Assessment (N2O), which follows the 2021 Global Methane Assessment that showed a potential 45% reduction in methane emissions and led to a 30% reduction commitment by 150 countries by 2030.

Nitrous oxide emissions have risen by 40% since 1980 and are projected to increase by 30% from 2020 levels by 2050, with global efforts to reduce these emissions reportedly capable of preventing the equivalent of up to 235 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions by 2100.

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