Greenhouse gases hit new record - UN

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Charlie Riedel / AP, fileA flock of geese fly past a smokestack at the Jeffery Energy Center coal power plant near Emmitt, Kansas, in this Jan. 10, 2009 photo.By Ian Johnston, NBC NewsGreenhouse gases reached a new record level in 2011, the World Meteorological Organization said Tuesday.

The body, an agency of the United Nations, said in a statement that there had been a 30 percent increase in the warming effect on the climate between 1990 and 2011.

Follow @NBCNewsWorld It said the level of carbon dioxide – which accounts for about 80 percent of the warming effect – and other so-called greenhouse gases such as methane and nitrous oxide had reached the carbon dioxide-equivalent of 473 parts per million in 2011.

The three gases are closely linked to human activities such as fossil fuel use, deforestation and intensive agriculture.

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