The Simple Truth of Climate Change [Part 1]
![The Simple Truth of Climate Change [Part 1]](/content/images/size/w2000/2025/05/climat-1-1.jpg)
Understanding the causes of climate change can be complicated; however, we are here to provide clear answers.
A review article titled “Causes of Climate Change: Review Article” assessed the causes of climate change up to 2020 [1]. These included anthropogenic causes, which refer to human-induced factors.
Anthropogenic (Human) Causes
- Deforestation [1]: Forests are critical for absorbing and storing Carbon Dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. When forests are cleared, there are fewer plants and trees available to capture CO2 from the atmosphere [1]. Furthermore, removing these forests results in the CO2 they store being released [1]. Therefore, deforestation significantly impacts the rise of CO2 concentrations, intensifying the greenhouse effect and greatly contributing to global warming.
- Urbanisation and Changes in Land Use [1]: Altering land use can greatly impact climate change, which is evident with the implications of deforestation [1]. Urbanisation can cause an urban heat effect as vegetation is replaced with materials such as concrete [1], which absorb heat and lead to higher temperatures in these areas, thus worsening heat waves and droughts [1].
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions [1]: CO2, methane, water vapour, and nitrous oxide are all greenhouse gases that trap heat, thus increasing temperatures. According to this article, the global surface temperature has risen by 0.6 degrees Celsius since 1900 [1], aligning with the rise in emissions. Moreover, CO2 is recognised as the primary driver of climate change [1].
- Burning Fossil Fuels: Burning fossil fuels emits various greenhouse gases and contributes to 22% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions [1]. Population growth and expansion have led to increased fossil fuel consumption, which comprises 78% of the total greenhouse gas emissions from 1970 to 2010 [1].
- Pollutants: The emission of products such as aerosols and black carbon also affects cloud formation and the absorption of solar radiation (heat [1]), thus contributing to global warming.
- Agriculture: Utilising land for agriculture has led to the removal of vital vegetation that would have stored CO2 [1]. However, their removal has resulted in higher concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere [1].
Furthermore, many products used in agriculture have damaging effects, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) [1], which can damage the ozone layer [1], resulting in more solar radiation reaching the surface and thus warming the Earth.
In addition, nitrogen-based fertilisers release the greenhouse gas nitrogen into the atmosphere [1]. Nitrogen is 300 times more effective at trapping heat than CO2.
Moreover, many farm animals, such as cows, release methane, another potent greenhouse gas, thus further contributing to the greenhouse effect and climate change.
Whether we like it or not, humans contribute to various significant causes of climate change, which is the simple truth. Understanding these causes is crucial for implementing methods to minimise our impact.
If you'd like to continue our exploration on the simple truth of Climate Change and the natural causes, check out: Simple Truth of Climate Change Part 2.
References
Reference paper “Causes of Climate Change: Review Article”.