I'll gather the latest scientific evidence on human responsibility for climate change.
Yes - according to the overwhelming scientific evidence and consensus, humans are the principal cause of recent climate change.
What major scientific bodies conclude
•NASA states: "There is unequivocal evidence that Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate. Human activity is the principal cause."
•The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated that "It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land… climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe."
•In its Sixth Assessment Report, the IPCC concluded that "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."
•Earlier IPCC assessments phrased this as:
•"at least 95% certainty that human activities are the principal cause"
•"It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century."
•With a likely human contribution of "0.8 to 1.3 degrees Celsius to global mean temperature since the late 1800s."
Why scientists attribute warming to humans
1.Greenhouse gas increase: Scientists attribute the global warming trend observed since the mid-20th century to the human expansion of the "greenhouse effect". Industrial activities have "raised atmospheric carbon dioxide levels by nearly 50% since 1750", and scientists can see a distinctive isotopic fingerprint showing this increase is due to human activities.
2.Direct observations of Earth's energy budget: Climate modelling predicts that human activities are causing the release of greenhouse gases and aerosols that are affecting Earth's energy budget. Now, a NASA study has confirmed these predictions with direct observations for the first time: radiative forcings are increasing due to human actions. Researchers described it as "direct evidence that human activities are causing changes to Earth's energy budget."
3.Natural factors cannot explain current warming:
•While natural variability plays some part, the "preponderance of evidence indicates that human activities—particularly emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases—are mostly responsible for making our planet warmer."
•"While the Sun has played a role in past climate changes, the evidence shows the current warming cannot be explained by the Sun."
•Measurements show "Since 1750, the average amount of energy from the Sun either remained constant or decreased slightly"
•"Climate models that include solar irradiance changes can't reproduce the observed temperature trend over the past century or more without including a rise in greenhouse gases."
How strong is scientific agreement?
Multiple independent analyses find overwhelming consensus:
•"97 percent to 99.9 percent of climate scientists agree that climate change is happening and that human activity is the primary cause."
•Other reviews put agreement "at roughly 97% or higher, with some large-scale literature reviews reporting consensus estimates above 99%"
This consensus was already forming in the 1980s and has strengthened as evidence accumulated since the first IPCC report in the early 1990s.
In short, climate has changed naturally in the past due to solar and volcanic activity, but the rapid warming since the mid-20th century, and the associated changes in ocean heat, sea level, and extreme weather, is unequivocally dominated by human emissions of CO2, methane, nitrous oxide and other greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, deforestation, agriculture and industry.