Yes. The scientific consensus is that human activities are the dominant cause of the observed global warming and climate change since the mid-20th century.
Key Evidence
•Greenhouse gas emissions: Burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas), deforestation, cement production, and agriculture have sharply increased atmospheric CO₂, methane, and other greenhouse gases. CO₂ levels have risen from ~280 ppm pre-industrially to over 420 ppm today—higher than at any point in at least 800,000 years (ice-core data). The isotopic signature of the added carbon matches fossil sources.
•Temperature record: Global average surface temperatures have risen ~1.1–1.2°C since the late 19th century, with most of the warming occurring since the 1970s. This is confirmed by multiple independent datasets (NASA GISS, NOAA, HadCRUT, Berkeley Earth, etc.), satellite measurements, ocean heat content, glacier retreat, sea-level rise, and shrinking Arctic sea ice.
•Attribution studies and models: Climate models that include only natural forcings (solar output, volcanoes, orbital cycles) cannot reproduce the observed warming. Models that include anthropogenic greenhouse gases and aerosols match the observations closely. The IPCC (AR6) states it is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean, and land, and that human-caused greenhouse gases are the main driver.
•Physical fingerprinting: The troposphere is warming while the stratosphere is cooling (expected from greenhouse forcing, not from increased solar output). Nights are warming faster than days, and winters faster than summers in many regions—patterns consistent with greenhouse gases rather than pure solar or internal variability.
Natural Factors
Climate has always varied due to orbital cycles (Milankovitch), solar irradiance, volcanic aerosols, and internal oscillations (ENSO, PDO, etc.). These explain past changes (e.g., ice ages, Medieval Warm Period, Little Ice Age) but do not account for the rapid, global-scale warming of the past ~70–100 years. Solar output has been flat or slightly declining since the mid-20th century while temperatures rose. Volcanic aerosols produce short-term cooling.
Consensus
Major scientific bodies (IPCC, NAS, AAAS, AMS, royal societies, etc.) and the vast majority of climate scientists agree on the human role. Statements claiming otherwise typically come from non-experts, outdated views, or selective cherry-picking of data.
Nuance
•“Climate change” includes both natural variability and the human-forced trend. The current rapid change is overwhelmingly anthropogenic.
•Feedbacks (water vapor, ice-albedo, clouds) amplify the initial CO₂ forcing.
•Regional effects, extreme-weather attribution, and exact future projections involve remaining uncertainties, but the core responsibility for the global energy imbalance does not.
In short: humans are responsible for the bulk of recent climate change through greenhouse-gas emissions and land-use change. This is one of the most thoroughly established findings in Earth system science.