CO2 Levels in 2025 to Surpass 2 Million-Year High, India Targets Emission Cuts

According to a study published by the Met Office, UK, on January 17, 2025, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are projected to be 429.6 ppm in May, surpassing atmospheric CO2 concentration for over 2 million years. This represents an approximate increase of 2.26 ppm from 2024 to 2025, which does not align with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recommendation for limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

To limit the increasing global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the accumulation of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere must be reduced and eventually reversed. This requires the current CO2 build-up in the atmosphere to slow to approximately 1.8 ppm per year, as per the IPCC. However, the atmospheric CO2 concentrations continue to rise.

The record increase in atmospheric CO2 concentrations was driven by a combination of factors, including record-high fossil fuel emissions, reduced carbon capture by natural sinks such as tropical forests and massive CO2 releases from wildfires, according to a study by the Met Office.

Read More: World Chokes as CO2 Levels Increase by 11% in 2 Decades

India's Climate Policies to Cut CO2

India's current climate policies are projected to reduce CO2 emissions by around four billion tonnes between 2020 and 2030 and drive a 24% reduction in coal-based power generation, according to a report published by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) on November 7, 2024.

The report also highlighted that policies in India's power, residential and transport sectors have already saved 440 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (MtCO2) between 2015 and 2020. This progress is significant since India had committed to reducing CO2 emissions by one billion tonnes by 2030 at COP26 in Glasgow.

According to the report, policies promoting renewable energy are expected to drive a 24% decline in coal-based electricity generation by 2030 in the power sector alone, relative to a no-policy scenario.

Furthermore, with strategic support, the share of combined solar and wind power in India’s energy mix is expected to increase to 26% by 2030 and 43% by 2050, up from only around 3% in 2015.