Global Warming

The increase of Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could cause human extinction.

The IPCC was established in 1988 and has produced five assessment reports on climate change. These reports must be considered the latest and definitive documents on the issue.

The greenhouse effect is the science behind global warming. The Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere absorbs radiation and changes the balance of heat arriving at and leaving the earth.

Scientist have debated the effects of increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere for many decades. There is now a consensus that the effects could be disastrous for the environment if emissions are not controlled.

Many government agreements are in place towards reducing net carbon emissions to zero by 2050. Certain "Green" organizations are agitating to arrive at this goal much faster, by 2030. This latter goal seems impossible achieve and proposing it could be counter productive.

The Mercator Research Institute has made a "Carbon Clock" which counts how much CO2 can still be released into the atmosphere to limit global warming to the IPCC target temperatures.