Why climate matters: What science tells us about climate change
Since the industrialization, humans have been exploiting the earth’s resources increasingly intensely. Economic developments and rising consumption, especially in the Western world, meant that ever more fossil fuels have been burnt to supply energy and produce goods. In addition, more land is being used, and farming and food production have been intensified to ever more industrial levels. Alongside more consumption, more and more waste is being accumulated.
Achieving this lifestyle has come at a great cost: Due to the emissions from burning fossil fuels especially since the 1950s, greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) have risen to levels far beyond those needed for life on earth to continue as normal. These emissions, shown below as CO2 equivalents (CO2eq), stem mainly from electricity, heat production and land-use as. They now endanger life on Earth.