The Causes of Climate Change
Climate change refers to long-term temperature and weather patterns shifts. Changes in the solar cycle, for example, might explain some of these adjustments. Fossil fuel consumption has been the dominant driver of climate change since the 1800s.
Heat-trapping gases in nature, as well as an increase in human population and energy use, have combined to make us a very powerful natural force. Climate change is being caused by human activity, particularly the use of fossil fuels.
There are additional impacts on climate from human-caused changes in land use and land cover such as deforestation (reflectivity), urbanization (heat island effects), and vegetation patterns (deforestation, urbanization, and vegetation change).
Fossil fuels are created by the decay of carbon-based organisms that have been buried for millions of years. To create energy, they have carbon-rich resources that be harvested and burnt. About 80% of the world’s energy comes from these sources, which are not renewable. Plastic, steel, and a slew of other materials are made using them as well. The three categories of fossil fuels are coal, oil, and gas.
Figure 1 Coal emission (source tellaphotos)
Fossil fuel combustion results in significant emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Global warming is exacerbated by the presence of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. Temperatures throughout the world have already climbed by a degree Celsius. If global temperatures increase over 1.5 degrees Celsius, sea levels will rise further higher, extreme weather will become more frequent, animals will go extinct, food will become scarcer, people’s health will deteriorate, and poverty would grow for billions of people throughout the globe.
Fossil fuel emissions are the principal driver of global warming, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Fossil fuels and industry emitted 89% of all CO2 emissions in the world in 2018.
More than 0.3 degrees Celsius of the 1 degree Celsius rise in world average temperatures may be attributed to the use of coal, which is a fossil fuel. Thus, it is the primary driver of global temperature increase.
Approximately one-third of the world’s total carbon emissions are produced when oil is consumed. There have also been a number of oil spills in the last several years, all of which have had a terrible effect on the environment of our oceans.
The purposeful removal of trees from a landscape is what is meant by the term “deforestation”. Forests and trees are carbon sinks. This carbon may be released back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide if it is destroyed or cleaned completely, such as by fire.
Deforestation has been particularly severe in the wet tropics in the past ten years. Nearly as much land as South Africa has been lost to deforestation since 1990, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Annual net loss has decreased from 0.18 percent in the 1990s to 3.3 million hectares per year in the 2010-2015 period. Despite this, forest fires accounted for 51% of the land destroyed in 2016, compared to the previous year. Deforestation is also a result of agribusinesses destroying enormous expanses of forest for monoculture farms producing high-value cash crops like palm oil and soya, as well as cattle grazing.
Impact of Fossil Fuels on Climate Change
Figure 2 Deforestation (Getty images)
Human activity accounted for up to 10% of the carbon dioxide emissions in 2013 from deforestation, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. An additional 15% comes from tropical peatland emissions and forest degradation (changes that negatively effect the composition and functioning of forests without decreasing their overall size). According to a 2017 research based on satellite data from 2003 to 2014, tropical forests no longer serve as a carbon “sink” because they transfer more carbon than they collect owing to deforestation and degradation.
This period of modernity, digitization, and fast-paced society is mostly driven by urbanization, which is the primary human activity that contributes to climate change. A rising number of sub-urban and rural residents are moving to metropolitan regions in quest of career possibilities, educational opportunities, economic prospects, or forced migration due to political or religious conflict situations.
Figure 3 Urbanization ( source ub.org)
Rural-to-urban migration may lead to overcrowding, pollution, and inadequate sanitation, all of which are detrimental to the environment. Eradicate poverty, but do so at the price of the local ecology by moving to more developed countries. Development has the potential to have detrimental effects on the environment if it is not guided by policies that are both sustainable and wise. Large-scale urban expansion may lead to increased deforestation, habitat damage and greenhouse gas (GHG) or carbon emissions if it is not well thought out and managed. In addition to using more food and energy, urban dwellers use more of the world’s natural resources, which will ultimately be depleted due to the fact that these supplies are dwindling.
To put it another way, the usage of fossil fuels grows as a result of commercialization and industrialisation. Global warming and climate change will be exacerbated by an increase in the use of fossil fuels.
Urbanization is influenced by local weather conditions. “Urban climate” is a term used to describe the local climate, which has been affected by urban growth. The countryside’s natural environment, which is supported by an equable climate and sufficient fresh water, is certainly a remarkable and priceless resource for humanity. In terms of human health and well-being, urban temperatures tend to be worse quality than rural ones.
Structures and materials may be damaged or destroyed as a result of urbanization. Natural catastrophes have a direct influence on the ability of communities to withstand the forces of nature. Hard, frequently paved, urban surfaces impact runoff designs and may be the primary source of flooding’s deadly consequences if improperly constructed and managed. Often, damage and discomfort are caused by wind gusts from huge structures or buildings, and warm air over a city may generate strong local thunderstorms.
Every step of the food supply chain contributes to the release of greenhouse gases into the sky. Farming, in particular, is a major source of the harmful greenhouse gases methane and nitrous oxide that are emitted. Enteric fermentation causes cattle to create methane during digestion, which is released via belches. Manure and organic garbage in landfills may also cause it to escape. Nitrous oxide is released as a byproduct of organic and mineral nitrogen fertilizers.
Deforestation and its Environmental Consequences
In 2012, 10% of the EU’s total greenhouse gas emissions were attributed to agriculture. A large decline in animal numbers, better fertilizer application, and improved waste management all contributed to a 24% reduction in agricultural emissions in the EU between 1990 and 2012.
Figure 4 Cutting down trees for agriculture
Other than in the United States, agriculture is moving in the other way. Between 2001 and 2011, agricultural and animal production accounted for a 14 percent rise in global greenhouse gas emissions. It was mainly due to a rise in agricultural production in emerging nations that fueled the growth. Rising affluence in certain emerging nations have led to changes in food consumption habits, which have led to a rise in global food demand. Enteric fermentation increased its emissions by 11% in 2011, making up 39% of the industry’s overall emissions of greenhouse gases.
Further reductions in agricultural greenhouse gas emissions are challenging because of the essential role food plays in our lives. Although the EU has made significant progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions related with food production, there is still potential for improvement. Methane capture from manure, more efficient fertilizer usage, and improved efficiency in meat and dairy production (i.e. reducing emissions per unit of food produced) are all examples of novel technology that can be better integrated into production systems.
Changes in food consumption may assist decrease greenhouse gas emissions in addition to increasing efficiency. The carbon, commodity, and water footprints per kilogram of meat and dairy products are by far the largest of any food. More than 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent are emitted by livestock and forage production each year. Few emissions from food production and distribution are caused by activities beyond the farm gate. To minimize greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, we can help reduce food waste and utilize emission-intensive food items.
As populations of dominating species fluctuate over time, we may expect this to be reflected in the population growth rates of the species affected by the shift in vegetation.
Changing vegetation will exacerbate already-depleted soil moisture in areas that are predicted to be hit hard by climate change. In contrast, increasing interception of water by plants will negate any gains in water availability caused by climate change alone. Only a few areas may benefit from climate change-induced plant changes, which may result in an overall increase in water availability. Changes in vegetation in response to climate change may exacerbate drought conditions and dilute the impacts of increasing precipitation, resulting in harsher severe droughts in certain locations despite higher downpours, according to the data presented here.
Conclusion
Over the last 150 years, global warming has been nearly identical to what is anticipated from greenhouse gas emissions and other human impacts, both in the simple and more complex climate models. The best estimate of human contribution to modern warming is close to 100 percent.
Reference List
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Harris, M. (ed.) (2019) Coping with climate change: Tropical solutions. 1st ed. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature.
Li, Q. et al. (2022) “Different climate response persistence causes warming trend unevenness at continental scales,” Nature climate change, 12(4), pp. 343–349. doi: 10.1038/s41558-022-01313-9
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Dey, P., & Mishra, A. (2017). Separating the impacts of climate change and human activities on streamflow: A review of methodologies and critical assumptions. Journal Of Hydrology, 548, 278-290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2017.03.014
Di Rita, F., Molisso, F., & Sacchi, M. (2018). Late Holocene environmental dynamics, vegetation history, human impact, and climate change in the ancient Literna Palus (Lago Patria; Campania, Italy). Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 258, 48-61.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Attribution of Extreme Weather Events in the Context of Climate Change (The National Academies Press 2016).
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