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. Read how CO2 causes global warming.
Where does the CO2 come from?
The burning of any fossil fuel (coal, oil, natural gas) releases CO2. Any activity that involves this process contributes towards increasing the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. The ineffecient use of electricity generated through the burning of fossil fuels increases CO2 emissions. indirectly. The destruction of the world's forests reduces the amount of CO2 absorbed from the atmosphere and is therefore also an indirect but signficant contributor.
© IPCC AR4
Concentration of greenhouse gasses from 0 - 2005
Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change Report
- IPCC Fourth Assessment Report 4.01 MB pdf
Understanding Climate Change
When humans burn fossil fuels to generate power or to power transport, they emit carbon dioxide (and other greenhouse gases) into the atmosphere.
At a certain level, up to 350-400 parts per million, CO2 is a normal part of the planet’s regulatory system, but beyond this, the warming starts to result in severe (and therefore dangerous) weather patterns like droughts and floods.According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), CO2 makes up more than three quarters of all greenhouse gas emissions. CO2 from fossil fuel contributes 56.6% of all greenhouse gasses, while an additional 17.3% is contributed by CO2 from deforestation and the decay of biomass. Methane (mostly from agriculture and waste) makes up 14.3% and nitrous oxide (mostly from fertilizer) another 7.9% makes up most of the balance.
These emissions are spread across different sectors contributing to climate change:
- Energy supply: 25.9% (primarily coal power)
- Industry: 19.4% (primarily fossil fuel use)
- Forestry: 17.4% (primarily deforestation)
- Agriculture: 13.5% (primarily nitrous oxide from fertilizer and methane from animals)
- Transport: 13.1% (primarily oil)
- Commercial and residential buildings: 7.9% (primarily fossil fuel use)
- Waste and wastewater: 2.8% (primarily methane)
In addition to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, the earth’s ability to reflect heat is also reduced by the melting of ice caps and glaciers or the soot from air pollution being deposited on light surfaces like snow.