Simons is referring to nature that absorbs the greenhouse gas. Overall, oceans absorb 25 percent of CO2 emissions, land (e.g. forests and grasslands) 25 percent, and 50 percent remains in the atmosphere. But that seems to be changing.

If nature no longer helps us, we have to do it ourselves. More is being done to green energy and to reduce emissions. So why are total emissions not falling? You can see it in this video:

The uptake of trees and plants in particular is lagging behind in the new figures, and emissions are actually increasing. "So that's going completely in the wrong direction," says climate scientist Bart Verheggen of the KNMI. "You hope that emissions will go down, and the uptake by oceans and biosphere will increase along with the concentration. That is not the case."