What global warming?

Global warming is the long-term rise in the average

temperature of the Earth's climate system. It is a major
aspect of current climate change, and has been demonstrated
by direct temperature measurements and by measurements of
various effects of the warming. The term commonly refers to
the mainly human-caused increase in global surface
temperatures and its projected continuation. In this context,
the terms global warming and climate change are often used
interchangeably, but climate change includes both global
warming and its effects, such as changes in precipitation and
impacts that differ by region. There were prehistoric periods
of global warming, but observed changes since the mid-20th
century have been much greater than those seen in previous
records covering decades to thousands of years.

1. Burning fossil fuels

When we burn fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas to create
electricity or power our cars, we release CO2 pollution into
the atmosphere.

Australians are big producers of CO2 pollution compared to

the rest of the world. Our level of CO2 pollution per person is
nearly double the average of other developed nations and
more than four times the world average
Electricity generation is the main cause of carbon pollution in
Australia as 73% of our electricity comes from burning coal
and 13% from burning gas. The remaining 14% comes from
renewable energy sources such as hydro, solar and wind, which
do not emit carbon.

A large coal power station in the UK with barbed wire in the

foreground © Global Warming Images / WWF

Solutions:

Reducing the amount of electricity generated from coal and

gas

Increasing the amount of electricity from clean, renewable

energy sources like solar and wind

Join the movement for stronger action on climate change and

urge key Australian politicians to get us back on track to
meeting our Paris Agreement targets.

2. Deforestation & Tree-Clearing

Plants and trees play an important role in regulating the

climate because they absorb carbon dioxide from the air and
release oxygen back into it. Forests and bushland act as
carbon sinks and are a valuable means of keeping global
warming to 1.5°C.

But humans clear vast areas of vegetation around the world

for farming, urban and infrastructure development or to sell
tree products such as timber and palm oil. When vegetation is
removed or burnt, the stored carbon is released back into the
atmosphere as CO2, contributing to global warming.

Up to one-fifth of global greenhouse gas pollution comes from

deforestation and forest degradation.

Solutions:

Prevent deforestation and tree-clearing

Plant more trees through reforestation and afforestation

Shop sustainably

Call on our leaders to introduce stronger laws to stop

excessive tree-clearing

3. Agriculture & Farming

Animals, particularly livestock like sheep and cattle, produce

methane, a greenhouse gas. When livestock are grazed at a
large scale, as in Australia, the amount of methane produced
is a big contributor to global warming.

Some fertilisers that farmers use also release nitrous oxide,

which is another greenhouse gas.

Australian farming contributes 16% of our total greenhouse

gas emissions.
The effects of global warming are the environmental and social
changes caused (directly or indirectly) by human emissions of
greenhouse gases. There is a broad scientific consensus that
climate change is occurring, and that human activities are the
primary driver.[1] Many impacts of climate change have already
been observed, including extreme weather events, glacier retreat,
[2] changes in the timing of seasonal events[2] (e.g., earlier
flowering of plants),[3] changes in agricultural productivity,[2] sea
level rise, and declines in Arctic sea ice extent.[4]

The physical effects of future climate change depends on the

extent of prevention efforts (i.e., reducing greenhouse gas
emissions). The social impact of climate changes will be further
affected by our efforts to prepare for changes that do occur.[5][6]
Climate engineering is another policy option, although there are
uncertainties regarding its effectiveness and little is known about
potential side effects.[7]

Near-term climate change policies could significantly affect long-

term climate change impacts.[5][8] Stringent mitigation policies
might be able to limit global warming (in 2100) to around 2 °C or
below, relative to pre-industrial levels.[9] Without mitigation,
increased energy demand and extensive use of fossil fuels[10]
might lead to global warming of around 4 °C.[11][12] Higher
magnitudes of global warming would be more difficult to adapt to,
[13] and would increase the risk of negative impacts.[14]

This article doesn't cover ocean acidification, which is directly

caused by atmospheric carbon dioxide, not the warming of global
warming itself.