Whether the argument is that global warming exists or that it is a myth, one thing is for sure: the issue did not come about naturally.
According to BBC News, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported atmospheric CO2 grew at a faster pace last year than any in the previous decade.
WMO says these gasses, which also included record highs for methane and nitrous oxide, have warmed the climate by nearly a third since 1990. The WMO reported their findings in their annual greenhouse gas bulletin, which only takes air emissions into account and not those on the ground.
"The observations highlight yet again how heat-trapping gases from human activities have upset the natural balance of our atmosphere and are a major contribution to climate change," said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud. "It is a worry. The more we delay action the bigger the risk we cannot stay under the 2 degree Celsius limit that countries have agreed."
Pre-industrial parts per million (ppm) of CO2 concentration were 278. Since 1750, that figure has climbed by a 141 percent increase. The yearly average increase in CO2 ppm over that last decade is 2.02. From 2011 to 2012, that increase was calculated at 2.2 ppm.
"The laws of physics and chemistry are not negotiable," said Jarraud. "Greenhouse gases are what they are, the laws of physics show they can only contribute to warming the system, but parts of this heat may go in different places like the oceans for some periods of time."
Methane levels reached 1,819 parts per billion in 2012 and nitrous oxide reached 325.1 parts per billion the same year, both record highs. While CO2 can be traced directly to human activity on Earth, nitrous oxide and methane are harder to prove to be manmade result.
"For the past decade or so the oceans have been sucking up this extra heat, meaning that surface temperatures have only increased slowly," said Piers Forster, professor at the University of Leeds. "Don't expect this state of affairs to continue though, the extra heat will eventually come out and bite us, so expect strong warming over the coming decades."
