The World - Greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO₂)
Atmosphere and climate change
978-3-14-100890-6 | Page 21 | Ill. 5
Overview
The Earth's atmosphere has the property of reducing the heat radiation of the Earth's surface and of the layers of air near the ground into space. Without this natural greenhouse effect, global mean temperatures would be more than 30°C lower than they are today, making life on earth impossible.
Human activities have led to a significant accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, threatening serious changes in the world's climate.
CO2 emissions of states and world regions
The increased emission of greenhouse gases since the beginning of industrialisation is particularly noticeable. The result is a warming of the global climate, also known as the anthropogenic greenhouse effect. The most important greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide (CO2). It accounts for three quarters of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. CO2 is mostly released by the combustion of fossil fuels and industrial processes (65% of the anthropogenic greenhouse effect), and secondly by agriculture and other land uses (11%).
moreGreenhouse gases and global warming
The increased emission of greenhouse gases since the beginning of industrialisation is the main cause of global warming. The most important greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide (CO2), which is produced by burning the fossil fuels coal, oil and natural gas. Around 1860, about 340 million tonnes of CO2 were released annually; today the figure is more than a hundred times higher. In the Kyoto Protocol, the first major climate protection agreement, more than 170 countries committed themselves to drastically reducing their CO2 emissions. Nevertheless, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), they have continued to rise and will reach new record levels this decade.
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