What is Climate Change?

Climate change is a change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns when that
change lasts for an extended period of time (i.e., decades to millions of years). Climate
change may refer to a change in average weather conditions, or in the time variation of
weather around longer-term average conditions (i.e., more or fewer extreme
weather events). Climate change is caused by factors such as biotic processes,
variations in solar radiation received by Earth, plate tectonics, and volcanic eruptions.
Certain human activities have also been identified as significant causes of recent
climate change, often referred to as "global warming".
Scientists actively work to understand past and future climate by using observations and
theoretical models. A climate recordextending deep into the Earth's pasthas been
assembled, and continues to be built up, based on geological evidence from
borehole temperature profiles, cores removed from deep accumulations of
ice, floral and faunal records, glacial and peri glacial processes, stable-isotope and
other analyses of sediment layers, and records of past sea levels. More recent data are
provided by the instrumental record. General circulation models, based on the physical
sciences, are often used in theoretical approaches to match past climate data, make
future projections, and link causes and effects in climate change.

Furthermore, climate change is a long-term change in the statistical distribution of

weather patterns over periods of time that range from decades to millions of years. It
may be a change in the average weather conditions or a change in the distribution of
weather events with respect to an average, for example, greater or fewer extreme
weather events. Climate change may be limited to a specific region, or may occur
across the whole Earth.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), there are
7 indicators that would be expected to increase in a warming world (and they are), and
3 indicators would be expected to decrease (and they are):

What Causes Climate Change?

Earth is a very special planet its orbits close enough to the sun to receive a lot
of energy, but far enough away not to be scorched.

It is in what you might call the "goldilocks zone", where the conditions are just right for
life as we know it.
To help keep these conditions constant, our planet is wrapped in a layer of
greenhouse
gases.
This layer acts like a blanket, keeping the earth warm and shielding it from the cold of
universe. This is commonly referred to as the greenhouse effect.
Carbon dioxide (CO2), which, while not the most potent greenhouse gas,
nevertheless the main driver of the greenhouse effect.

is

When fossil fuels - coal, oil and natural gas - are burnt they release CO2 into the
atmosphere.
Because of this the layer of greenhouse gas is getting thicker, which is in turn making
the Earth warmer.
Thus the ongoing unlimited burning of fossil fuels is the cause of climate change.
In order to satisfy our endless hunger for energy we are buring unlimited quantities of
fossil fuels.
But, this does not have to be the case, thanks to human ingenuity there are
now smarter ways to make energy.
About Carbon Dioxide
CO2 can be harmless enough when dissolved in a drink it adds sparkle to mineral
water, soft drinks and champagne. However, when excess amounts are released into
the atmosphere it can cause untold damage. How CO2 causes global warming.
Where does CO2 come from?
In terms of fuels, the main problem is coal. The other key reason is waste inefficient
use
of
energy.
And in terms of industries, the main culprit is electricity production the power industry.
The average coal-fired power plant wastes twice as much energy heating up the planet
as it converts to useful electricity.

Culprit coal
The biggest climate polluter
is the global power sector
which generates around
40% of all global electricity
from
coal.
We
need
electricity - but when you
take into account the true
cost of coal there are much
better ways to get it!
According
to
the
International Energy Agency
the
power
sector
is
responsible for 37% of all
man-made Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions. It creates about 23 billion tonnes of CO2
emissions per year in excess of 700 tonnes a second.
In turn, this CO2 continues to heat up our planet which poses an unprecedented threat
to us and the environment.
Generating electricity through the burning of fossil fuels, in particular carbon-heavy coal,
has a greater impact on the atmosphere than any other single human activity.
Coal is the world's most widely available fossil fuel
Weaning humanity off coal will not be easy. There is an estimated 2 billion people with
no access to domestic electricity, and recoverable reserves of coal exist in about 70
countries, according to the World Coal Institute, an industry lobby group (the largest
reserves are in the United States, Russia and China). Coal is considered a cheap form
of
energy.
But coal is not cheap - if you have to pay for it all
The true cost of coal is not found on any balance sheet, but in the lives and health of
people and ecosystems. If the global power sector could be made fully accountable for
the true costs of pollution and climate change, it would probably turn away from fossil
fuel
overnight.
Too many governments still subsidize coal production which distorts the energy market.
OECD countries support their coal industry with a whopping US$30 billion annually.
Much cleaner renewable energies are hampered in their ability to compete with a dirty
fuel that is so heavily subsidized. Politicians have the power to remove fossil-fuel
subsidies or, better still, transfer them to renewable energy.

When the true cost of coal is taken into account, renewable energy begins to look
by far the best option for a healthy and sustainable future.
And Also Climate change is a long-term shift in weather conditions identified by
changes in temperature, precipitation, winds, and other indicators. Climate change can
involve both changes in average conditions and changes in variability, including, for
example, extreme events.
The earth's climate is naturally variable on all time scales. However, its long-term state
and average temperature are regulated by the balance between incoming and
outgoing energy, which determines the Earths energy balance. (Learn more about the
Earths climate system here). Any factor that causes a sustained change to the amount
of incoming energy or the amount of outgoing energy can lead to climate change. As
these factors are external to the climate system, they are referred to as climate
forcers, invoking the idea that they force or push the climate towards a new long-term
state either warmer or cooler depending on the cause of change. Different factors
operate on different time scales, and not all of those factors that have been
responsible for changes in earths climate in the distant past are relevant to
contemporary climate change. Factors that cause climate change can be divided into
two categories - those related to natural processes and those related to human
activity. In addition to natural causes of climate change, changes internal to the climate
system, such as variations in ocean currents or atmospheric circulation, can also
influence the climate for short periods of time. This natural internal climate variability is
superimposed on the long-term forced climate change.

Natural Causes

Human Causes

Short lived and long lived climate forcers

Natural Causes
The Earths climate can be affected by natural factors that are external to the climate
system, such as changes in volcanic activity, solar output, and the Earth's orbit
around the Sun. Of these, the two factors relevant on timescales of contemporary
climate change are changes in volcanic activity and changes in solar radiation. In
terms of the Earths energy balance, these factors primarily influence the amount of
incoming energy. Volcanic eruptions are episodic and have relatively short-term
effects on climate. Changes in solar irradiance have contributed to climate trends
over the past century but since the Industrial Revolution, the effect of additions of

greenhouse gases to the atmosphere has been about ten times that of changes in
the Suns output.
Human Causes
Climate change can also be caused by human activities, such as the burning of fossil
fuels and the conversion of land for forestry and agriculture. Since the beginning of
the Industrial Revolution, these human influences on the climate system have
increased substantially. In addition to other environmental impacts, these activities
change the land surface and emit various substances to the atmosphere. These in
turn can influence both the amount of incoming energy and the amount of outgoing
energy and can have both warming and cooling effects on the climate. The dominant
product of fossil fuel combustion is carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. The overall
effect of human activities since the Industrial Revolution has been a warming effect,
driven primarily by emissions of carbon dioxide and enhanced by emissions of other
greenhouse gases.
The build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has led to an enhancement of
the natural greenhouse effect. It is this human-induced enhancement of the
greenhouse effect that is of concern because ongoing emissions of greenhouse
gases have the potential to warm the planet to levels that have never been
experienced in the history of human civilization. Such climate change could have farreaching and/or unpredictable environmental, social, and economic consequences.
Short-lived and long-lived climate forcers
Carbon dioxide is the main cause of human-induced climate change. It has been
emitted in vast quantities from the burning of fossil fuels and it is a very long-lived
gas, which means it continues to affect the climate system during its long residence
time in the atmosphere. However, fossil fuel combustion, industrial processes,
agriculture, and forestry-related activities emit other substances that also act as
climate forcers. Some, such as nitrous oxide, are long-lived greenhouse gases like
carbon dioxide, and so contribute to long-term climate change. Other substances
have shorter atmospheric lifetimes because they are removed fairly quickly from the
atmosphere. Therefore, their effect on the climate system is similarly short-lived.
Together, these short-lived climate forcers are responsible for a significant amount of
current climate forcing from anthropogenic substances. Some short-lived climate
forcers have a climate warming effect (positive climate forcers) while others have a
cooling effect (negative climate forcers).
If atmospheric levels of short-lived climate forcers are continually replenished by
ongoing emissions, these continue to exert a climate forcing. However, reducing
emissions will quite quickly lead to reduced atmospheric levels of such substances. A
number of short-lived climate forcers have climate warming effects and together are

the most important contributors to the human enhancement of the greenhouse effect
after carbon dioxide. This includes methane and tropospheric ozone both
greenhouse gases and black carbon, a small solid particle formed from the
incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels (coal, oil and wood for example).
Other short-lived climate forcers have climate cooling effects, most notably sulphate
aerosols. Fossil fuel combustion emits sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere (in
addition to carbon dioxide) which then combines with water vapour to form tiny
droplets (aerosols) which reflect sunlight. Sulphate aerosols remain in the
atmosphere for only a few days (washing out in what is referred to as acid rain), and
so do not have the same long-term effect as greenhouse gases. The cooling from
sulphate aerosols in the atmosphere has, however, offset some of the warming from
other substances. That is, the warming we have experienced to date would have
been even larger had it not been for elevated levels of sulphate aerosols in the
atmosphere.