Are we driving climate change? I'll pull the latest scientific consensus to find out.
Yes, according to the overwhelming scientific evidence and consensus, humans are the principal cause of modern climate change.
There is unequivocal evidence that Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate, and human activity is the principal cause.
Scientific evidence continues to show that human activities (primarily the human burning of fossil fuels) have warmed Earth's surface and its ocean basins, which in turn have continued to impact Earth's climate. This is based on over a century of scientific evidence.
Key findings:
•Multiple studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals show that climate-warming trends over the past century are extremely likely due to human activities.
•Scientific consensus identifying humans as primarily responsible is not new and was already forming in the 1980s, with today 97 percent to 99.9 percent of climate scientists agreeing that climate change is happening and that human activity is the primary cause. The vast majority of actively publishing climate scientists – 97 percent – agree that humans are causing global warming and climate change.
•A statement from 18 scientific associations states: "Observations throughout the world make it clear that climate change is occurring, and rigorous scientific research demonstrates that the greenhouse gases emitted by human activities are the primary driver."
•The American Geophysical Union concluded it is extremely likely that human activities, especially emissions of greenhouse gases, are the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century.
•The U.S. Global Change Research Program, representing 13 U.S. government departments and agencies, stated Earth's climate is now changing faster than at any point in the history of modern civilization, primarily as a result of human activities.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessments:
•The IPCC concluded it is unequivocal that the increase of CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere over the industrial era is the result of human activities and that human influence is the principal driver of many changes observed across the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere.
•In similar wording, the IPCC states: “It is unequivocal that the increase of CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere over the industrial era is the result of human activities and that human influence is the principal driver of many changes observed across the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, and biosphere."
•Since systematic scientific assessments began in the 1970s, the influence of human activity on the warming of the climate system has evolved from theory to established fact.
Mechanism:
•Scientists attribute the global warming trend observed since the mid-20th century to the human expansion of the "greenhouse effect" — warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space. The greenhouse effect is essential to life, but human-made emissions in the atmosphere are trapping and slowing heat loss to space.
•The industrial activities that our modern civilization depends upon have raised atmospheric carbon dioxide levels by nearly 50% since 1750, and this increase is due to human activities.
•Over the last century, burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil has increased the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Natural causes, such as solar variability, have been evaluated and ruled out as the dominant cause for recent warming:
•While the Sun has played a role in past climate changes, the evidence shows the current warming cannot be explained by the Sun.
•Since 1750, the average amount of energy from the Sun either remained constant or decreased slightly.