Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Future climate change is one of the defining challenges of the 21st century, along with
poverty alleviation, environmental degradation, and global security. The problem is that
'climate change' is no longer just a scientific concern, but encompasses economics, soci-
ology, geopolitics, national and local politics, law, and health just to name a few. This
chapter will examine the role of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in moderating past global cli-
mate, why they have been rising since the industrial revolution, and why they are now con-
sidered dangerous pollutants. It will examine which countries have produced the most
GHGs and how it is changing with rapid development. It will introduce the Intergovern-
mental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and how it regularly collates and assesses the
most recent evidence for climate change.
