‘Climate change’ occurs when increasing greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), cause a change in the earth’s temperatures and weather patterns
One aspect of climate change is global warming. While climate change is a natural phenomenon and the average temperature of the planet has always fluctuated, it is now widely accepted that human factors are adding to this variability.
Since fossil fuels (such as coal, oil and gas) began to be used in a big way during the industrial revolution, the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) has increased by 31%.
CO2 is the greenhouse gas, released through human activity, that causes the most significant contribution to climate change, although it is not the only one. Whenever we heat our houses or offices, drive a car, generate most of our electricity or take a flight, the activity releases CO2 into the atmosphere.
This gas is one of the causes of the greenhouse effect, by which incoming radiation from the sun is trapped in the atmosphere, heating it up. Global temperatures have risen by about 0.75 degrees centigrade in the last 100 years and most climate scientists agree that human activity has contributed to this.
It is now widely accepted by scientists and policy makers that if we are to avoid irreversible and dangerous changes in the earth’s climate, the global mean temperature rise needs to be limited to a maximum of two degrees centigrade above pre-industrial levels. Accordingly, the 2008 UN conference in Bali saw consensus for the first time from the international community on the need to significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions in the 21st century. The air transport industry, along with all others, has to play a part in achieving this objective.
Find out more about aviation's role in climate change »