Climate has changed naturally throughout Earth’s history. But the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN’s climate change agency, says natural causes cannot explain the particularly rapid warming seen over the past century.
This is caused by human activities, primarily the widespread use of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) in homes, factories and transportation systems.
When fossil fuels are burned, they release greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide (CO2). This CO2 acts like a blanket, trapping excess energy in the atmosphere near the earth’s surface. This heats the earth.
Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, when humans started burning large amounts of fossil fuels, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by about 50%.externalfar exceeding levels seen in Earth’s recent history.
CO2 released by burning fossil fuelsexternal It has a unique chemical fingerprint. This coincides with the types of CO2 that are increasingly present in the atmosphere.
