Water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are the main greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that trap heat close to Earth’s surface.
Many lines of evidence demonstrate that human activities, especially emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation, and land-use change, are primarily responsible for the climate changes observed in the industrial era, especially over the last six decades.
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities will continue to affect Earth’s climate for decades and even centuries. Humans are adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere at a rate far greater than it is removed by natural processes, creating a long-lived reservoir of the gas in the atmosphere and oceans that is driving the climate to a warmer and warmer state. Source: Drawdown Review
Global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions will increase by almost 5% in 2021 – the second-largest increase in history – reversing most of last year’s decline caused by the Covid-19 pandemic (IEA 2021). This would be the biggest annual rise in emissions since 2010, during the carbon-intensive recovery from the global financial crisis.
Credit: / IWRM AIO SIDS