Global Warming Causes
What are the main global warming causes?
While there are several natural causes that may influence the temperature of our planet, a vast majority of climate scientists attribute the recently observed global warming phenomenon mostly to human activities.
A 2007 climate change report released by the global climate authority IPCC re-affirms in no uncertain terms that “there is very high confidence that the net effect of human activities since 1750 has been one of warming” (1).
It is, first of all, the types of technology and energy that we use to power our industrialized lifestyles, and, second, the way we use our land, that are causing pollution and driving the process of global warming.
Fundamental Global Warming Causes
It is no surprise that global warming is a result of human-induced pollution.
As we have seen before, there are many types of
environmental pollution and specifically
air pollutants, which negatively affect the health of the environment but
do not directlycontribute to global warming.
Instead, the main immediate global warming cause is the increased concentration ofgreenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
The greenhouse gases are the by-products of many human activities.
Once emitted, some of these greenhouse gases end up in the atmosphere, where they trap a certain amount of originally solar energy (which would have otherwise escaped to space), and thus radiate this energy back to the Earth raising the planet’s average temperature.
So, the first fundamental global warming cause is an absolute dependence of the modern human society on the burning of fossil fuels, which is the most important source of greenhouse gas emissions.
The focal point of this cause is the generation of energy for use both in industry andcommercial/private sector.
Fossil fuel combustion is especially heavily used as a source of energy for industry.
In fact, industry literally cannot exist without fossil fuels.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the main greenhouse gas emitted as a by-product of fossil fuel combustion. This gas is the most important immediate global warming cause.
Some amounts of carbon dioxide are removed from the atmosphere by thecarbon sinks, such as tropical rainforests and oceans, as part of the process ofcarbon exchange between the atmosphere and the Earth (“carbon cycle”).
This carbon exchange has been taking place for thousands of years. It is an implicit guarantor of the Earth’s climate stability since the amount of carbon on the planet is more or less constant.
Carbon is indeed “the chemical basis of all known life” (2).
The carbon content of past living organisms has been stored in the form of fossil fuels – oil, gas and coal (3), which we use in virtually every aspect of our lives.
But the problem is that, as Barry Commoner notes, (4):
“The amounts of these fuels burned to provide society with energy represent the carbon captured by photosynthesis over millions of years. So, by burning them…we have returned carbon dioxide to the atmosphere thousands of times faster than the rate at which it was removed by the early tropical forests.”
In other words, we now release very large amounts of carbon dioxide at a very high rate, and the nature is unable to remove it in good time.
This leads to the accumulation of extra carbon in the atmosphere and, consequently, to global warming.
We have some other industry-related activities (usually called industrial processes) which are also significant sources of greenhouse gases such as fluorocarbons, carbon dioxide as well as small amounts of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O).
The products whose manufacturing causes the emission of these gases include cement, minerals, chemicals, metals.
Many activities related to industrial processes use large amounts of energy and thus produce significant amounts of greenhouse gas emissions through fossil fuel combustion.
But industrial processes also produce greenhouse emissions not related to fossil fuel combustion but rather related to the use of specific methods and materials for the manufacture of the products mentioned above.
So the first global warming cause is related to activities which are performed to generate energy for industry and commercial & private sector needs.
The second fundamental global warming cause is related to the way we use our land, i.e. land use.
Among other applications, most common land use activities include:
- Modern agricultural practices employed to breed animals, grow cereals, fruits & vegetables and other foods, all for human consumption.
The two important greenhouse gases emitted by agricultural practices are methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N20).
- Clearance of land for timber sales or for the expansion of human settlements / cattle ranches.
Alongside a cocktail of pollution released as part of this process, the main greenhouse gas emitted is carbon dioxide (CO2).
A very important element of this area is tropical deforestation, especially by way of forest fires, which alongside other pollutants causes the release of carbon dioxide.
A significant component related to, but different from, land use is waste management.
The main greenhouse gas emitted as a result of waste management activities is methane, with some small amounts of nitrous oxide.
Natural Global Warming Causes
The following natural factors may cause an increase in the Earth’s temperature: (5)
Changes in solar energy output
Since the sun is the only source of energy for the functioning of the Earth’s climate system, any changes in solar output may lead to climate change and, specifically global warming.
It is predicted that a change in solar output by only 1% per century may change the average temperature of the planet by between 0.5 to 1.0°C.
Changes in the Earth’s orbital characteristics
Changes in the shape of the Earth’s orbit around the sun as well as the tilt of the Earth’s axis alter the total amount of solar energy received by the planet. This would also affect the planet’s temperature.
Summary of Important Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gases
Global Warming PollutionSo, among the most important anthropogenicgreenhouse gases we have:
- Carbon dioxide (CO2)
- Methane (CO4)
- Nitrous Oxide (N2O)
- Fluorocarbons (incl. hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and perfluorocarbons (PFCs))
- Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)
Many of these gases come from natural sources.
But it is the human-caused contribution of these gases to global warming that we are interested in for the purposes of our discussion.
We will focus on three greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide – since they are the main anthropogenic contributors to global warming.
Carbon dioxide is by far the most important past and current greenhouse gas, followed by methane and nitrous oxide.
According to the calculations of the potential impact of each greenhouse gas on the future global temperatures weighed by their
global warming potential and based on the year 2000 emissions data, the contribution of each gas to the total temperature rise over the next 100 years is projected to be: (6)
- carbon dioxide – 72%
- methane – 19%
- nitrous oxide – 9%
Although some non-greenhouse air pollutants do not directly contribute to global warming, once in the air they may be transformed into actual greenhouse gases (for example, carbon monoxide (CO) may be transformed into carbon dioxide (CO2) ) and thus indirectly contribute to climate warming.
Such non-greenhouse gases are called precursor gases.
How can we neutralize global warming causes?
One way to deal with this issue is by developing alternatives to fossil fuels.
Green investment is a new area that is devoted to actively exploring alternative renewable energy sources.
Major Economic Sectors Acting as Global Warming Causes
As we described above, energy and land use activities are the major anthropogenic sources of greenhouse gas emissions, complemented by industrial processes and waste management.
The pie chart below shows the shares of each sector in the total amount of global greenhouse gas emissions (weighed by their global warming potential).
The energy sector is by far the largest emitter of greenhouse gases (70%) followed by the land use sector (23%), waste management (4%) and industrial processes (3%).
Below we analyse exactly which sub-sectors within each sector are the biggest emitters of certain greenhouse gases.
Global emissions of greenhouse gases (weighed by their global warming potential) based on the year 2000 emissions data (EDGAR), in teragram (Tg) (7)
Global Warming Cause:
ENERGY SECTOR
Sub-sector | CO2 | CH4(CO2eq) | N2O(CO2eq) | Total | % of total |
| | | | | |
Power Generation | 8,814 | 3 | 30 | 8,847 | 31% |
Industrial Sector
(excl. refineries etc) | 4,398 | 8 | 9 | 4,415 | 15% |
Road | 4,276 | 22 | 32 | 4,329 | 15% |
Residential, Commercial, and Other Sector | 3,390 | 42 | 7 | 3,439 | 12% |
Other Transformation Sector
(incl. refineries etc) | 2,222 | 9 | 5 | 2,236 | 8% |
Gas Production & Transportation | 0 | 1,235 | 0 | 1,235 | 4% |
Non-Energy Use and Chem. Feedstocks
(CO2 only) | 916 | 0 | 0 | 916 | 3% |
Coal Production | 0 | 849 | 0 | 849 | 3% |
Air | 654 | 0 | 6 | 660 | 2% |
Oil Extraction, Transportation and Handling | 291 | 262 | 0 | 554 | 2% |
Intl. Shipping | 428 | 0 | 1 | 429 | 1% |
Rail and other non-road | 390 | 0 | 1 | 390 | 1% |
Biofuel Residential | 0 | 345 | 0 | 345 | 1% |
Total: | 25,778 | 2,774 | 90 | 28,642 | 100% |
As we can see, power generation is the biggest source of greenhouse gases (specifically, CO2) within the energy sector, with 31% of the energy sector’s total emissions.
Power generation includes public electricity and heat production, according to the UNFCCC emissions reporting guidelines. (8)
A very significant proportion of power plants around the world depends on fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, oil) as their sources of energy.
And as we know, fossil fuel combustion is the primary global source of carbon dioxide, the most powerful of all greenhouse gases acting as global warming causes.
Coal is a particularly dirty fuel.
It is not only a source of greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide and methane.
It is also a source of other waste products such as heavy metals (including arsenic, lead, mercury etc) polluting the environment and resulting in radioactive waste. (9)
Many countries heavily depend on coal for power generation. For example, in 2006 coal was used to produce roughly 49% of total electricity capacity of the US. (10)
Developing countries such as Russia are especially dependent on coal as this resource is still in plentiful supply.
In addition to coal, natural gas- and oil- based power plants are also serious sources of greenhouse gases.
Industrial sector generates around 15% of the energy sector’s total emissions and includes fossil fuel combustion to power primarily manufacturing industries such as iron & steel, chemical, paper production and other industries.
Road transport is, of course, another major generator of greenhouse emissions (15% of the total amount), as still a vast majority of road vehicles around the world are currently powered by liquid oil.
Together these three sub-sectors – power generation, industrial sector and road transport – produce slightly more than 60% of the total greenhouse gas emissions related to the energy sector. Theforefore, they act as major global warming causes.
The biggest greenhouse gas emitted by the energy sector in general is, without doubt, carbon dioxide – it makes up 90% of all the greenhouse gas emissions.
Global Warming Cause:
LAND USE SECTOR
Sub-sector | CO2 | CH4
(CO2eq) | N2O
(CO2eq) | Total | % of total |
| | | | | |
Deforestation, incl. Tropical Forest Fires | 2,740 | 243 | 28 | 3,012 | 31% |
Animals, Enteric Fermentation | 0 | 2,001 | 0 | 2,001 | 21% |
Rice Cultivation | 0 | 984 | 0 | 984 | 10% |
Arable Land, Fertilizer Use | 0 | 0 | 822 | 822 | 9% |
Animal Waste Deposited to Soil | 0 | 0 | 796 | 796 | 8% |
Leaching & Run-off | 0 | 0 | 573 | 573 | 6% |
Crop Production | 0 | 0 | 467 | 467 | 5% |
Animal Waste Management | 0 | 212 | 166 | 378 | 4% |
Savannah and Shrubs Fires | 0 | 233 | 41 | 274 | 3% |
Deforestation, Post-Burning Effects | 0 | 0 | 181 | 181 | 2% |
Atmospheric Deposition | 0 | 0 | 115 | 115 | 1% |
Total: | 2,740 | 3,671 | 3,189 | 9,601 | 100% |
As for the land use sector, deforestation, animal enteric fermentation and rice cultivation are the top 3 sub-sectors with the largest greenhouse gas emissions.
Deforestation causes 31% of the total land use emissions and is a very serious problem not only from the point of view of global warming but also in respect of irreversible plant and animal diversity loss with negative consequences for many different groups of people and the planet as a whole.
Since forests are one of the largest storages of carbon, deforestation particularly through forest fires is a major source of carbon dioxide emissions globally.
This is especially true for many tropical countries which are host to tropical rainforests and all the natural resources coming with them.
Read more about deforestation in the case study below.
Enteric fermentation by farm animals (such as cattle, sheep, goats etc) is another important source of greenhouse emissions (21% of total land use emissions).
Enteric fermentation is a process through which animals produce methane in their digestive tract and then either belch it or pass it out as gas. (11)
It is one of the reasons why there are now global calls to start abandoning meat-based diets in favour of vegetarian ones.
Rice cultivation is one more major cause of methane emissions, producing 10% of total land use emissions.
There are several sub-sectors within the land use sector which emit significant amounts of nitrous oxide. This is specifically true because of a widespread use of artificial fertilizers in agricultural production.
The main greenhouse gases emitted by land use activities are methane and nitrous oxide, with a significant amount of carbon dioxide produced as a result of deforestation.
Global Warming Causes:
INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES
Sub-sector | CO2 | CH4
(CO2eq) | N2O
(CO2eq) | Total | % of total |
| | | | | |
Building Materials | 826 | 0 | 0 | 826 | 79% |
Chemicals | 0 | 0 | 196 | 196 | 19% |
Iron & Steel | 0 | 21 | 0 | 21 | 2% |
Solvent Use | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 1% |
Total: | 826 | 21 | 202 | 1,049 | 100% |
For industrial processes, the most important sub-sector is building materials. It includes production of cement which generates a big share of the total global anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions.
Global Warming Cause:
WASTE MANAGEMENT SECTOR
Sub-sector | CO2 | CH4
(CO2eq) | N2O
(CO2eq) | Total | % of total |
| | | | | |
Human Wastewater Disposal | 0 | 736 | 0 | 736 | 48% |
Landfills | 0 | 577 | 0 | 577 | 38% |
Waste Water Treatment | 0 | 135 | 85 | 219 | 14% |
Total: | 0 | 1,448 | 85 | 1,532 | 100% |
The main gas emitted by the waste management sector is methane.
Case Study:
Deforestation as One of the Major Global Warming Causes
There is no doubt that over the last several decades deforestation has become one of the greatest sources of greenhouse gas emissions and, therefore, one of the most important contributors to global warming.
As we have seen from the figures above, deforestation accounts for at least 7% of the total global greenhouse gas emissions (though many sources often refer to a figure of 20% here - that depends on particular methodology applied to derive this figure), with the main gas being carbon dioxide plus smaller amounts of methane and nitrous dioxide.
So their destruction inevitably causes disruptions in many environmental services as well.
An extremely important service provided by the rainforests is the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by photosynthesis. In other words, it acts as a pollution / carbon dioxide sink and storage.
So in global warming terms, deforestation leads to: (12)
- release of carbon dioxide from the trees back into the atmosphere
- release of carbon stores held in the soil into the atmosphere
- destruction of forests as carbon sinks for future carbon dioxide removal (i.e. damage to the planet’s future “carbon-sequestration” potential), and
- all of the above will further contribute to the global warming effect
However, the global warming effect from deforestation may be counterbalanced by the Earth’s increased albedo ratio. The higher albedo ratio means that the Earth will be able to reflect more solar energy back into space and thus contribute to global cooling.
The issue of deforestation has recently received a special international attention for several different reasons:
1. Deforestation is a source of greenhouse gas emissions and therefore global warming.
2. Environmental services provided by the rainforests benefit all the inhabitants of the planet rather than just citizens of the rainforest host countries.
3. It is very difficult to control deforestation on a local level.
4. The vast majority of Earth’s remaining forest cover is located in developing countries in the regions around the equator.
These countries desperately need resources provided by the rainforests for their own economic and social development.
The challenge to the international community is to find sustainable ways of rainforest management which would guarantee economic development for host countries as well as rainforests’ healthy functioning.
Global Warming Causes:
Conclusion - Are We Ready to Change the Way We Live?
To summarize it all, greenhouse gas emissions are the immediate global warming causes. And such emissions are produced by virtually every imaginable human activity.
So it is clear, that in order to eliminate the global warming causes we need to drastically cut our greenhouse gas emissions.
And for that we need to start changing our lifestyles to make them more economical and appreciative of the environmental health, and of course start developing new, renewable sources of energy.
There are probably a couple of “latent” global warming causes which we can attend to almost immediately if we really want to:
- Our own lifestyles and lack of desire to change them.
For example, simple things like saving electricity at home, switching to more efficient technologies, or recycling can make a real difference.
- Absence of political will to implement required changes.
Unfortunately, ubiquitous presence of vested interests (especially those of oil companies) prevents political leaders from driving the real change that we need forward.
It’s interesting to note that though global warming has been known to be a problem since the 1980s, we did not make much progress in the direction of cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Ironically, by 2005 we actually witnessed an increase in global GHG emissions as compared to the Kyoto Protocol’s base year of 1990. (13)
Of course, it is no easy task to reverse the process of global warming.
But it surely does not mean that we should not at least try.
One of the biggest issues facing us right now is global warming. Its effects on animals and on agriculture are indeed frightening, and the effects on the human population are even scarier. The facts about global warming are often debated, but unfortunately, even if we disagree about the causes, global warming effects are real, global, and measurable. The causes are mainly from us, the human race, and the effects on us will be severe.
