Climate Change

The scientific community has reached a consensus on the link between human activity and global climate change. Prior to large scale industrialization, changes in climate were driven by natural forces, such as volcanic eruptions, changes in Earth’s orbit, and variations in solar output. Over the last 200 years, human activities such as fossil fuel combustion and deforestation have become a major influence on climate by increasing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG).

The greenhouse effect is a naturally occurring process that moderates Earth’s climate, making it habitable for life as we know it. When the sun’s energy hits the Earth’s surface most of it is absorbed and radiated back into the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases “trap” this energy in the system, making Earth’s climate substantially warmer than it would be otherwise. Now, this delicately balanced system is being affected by emissions of greenhouse gases caused by humans, resulting in long-term changes in the components of climate like temperature, precipitation, wind, and ocean circulation patterns. Climate change and the emissions that trigger it are global in scope: emissions produced anywhere on the planet effect people and places everywhere else on the planet. The reverse is also true: emissions reductions in one place benefit everyone.