The Greenhouse Effect

The greenhouse effect is a natural process that plays a crucial role in making Earth habitable. It occurs when gases in the Earth's atmosphere trap heat from the Sun, making our planet much warmer than it would be without an atmosphere. This natural phenomenon is essential for maintaining temperatures suitable for life on Earth.

However, human activities are altering Earth's natural greenhouse effect, primarily through the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil. These activities release excessive amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, intensifying the greenhouse effect and leading to global warming.

Definition: The greenhouse effect is the process by which radiation from a planet's atmosphere warms the planet's surface to a temperature above what it would be without this atmosphere.

The greenhouse effect works as follows:

1. The Sun's energy reaches Earth's atmosphere.
2. Some of this energy is reflected back to space, while the rest is absorbed and re-radiated by greenhouse gases.
3. The absorbed energy warms the planet's surface and atmosphere, making life possible.

Plants play a vital role in balancing the greenhouse effect by absorbing carbon dioxide during photosynthesis. However, deforestation and other human activities are reducing this natural carbon sink, further exacerbating climate change.

Highlight: While the natural greenhouse effect is beneficial, human-induced enhancement of this effect is leading to climate change and global warming.

Understanding the greenhouse effect is crucial for comprehending the mechanisms of climate change and developing effective mitigation strategies. It underscores the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preserving natural carbon sinks like forests.

Measures Against Climate Change

International efforts to combat climate change have resulted in several key agreements and protocols. These measures aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit the global temperature rise. Some of the most significant initiatives include:

1. The Kyoto Protocol: Adopted in 1997 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), this protocol set binding emission reduction targets for developed countries. It aimed to reduce emissions by an average of 5% below 1990 levels during the 2008-2012 period. Some European Union states committed to a joint emission reduction target of 8% below 1990 levels.

2. The Cancún Agreements: Adopted in December 2010, these agreements established a comprehensive package to support developing nations in finance, technology, and capacity-building. They also set a schedule for reviewing the objective of keeping the average global temperature rise below 2°C.

Highlight: The Cancún Agreements marked a significant step in international climate negotiations by providing concrete support for developing nations to address climate change.

3. The Paris Agreement: Adopted in 2015, this landmark agreement aims to keep the global temperature rise well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, with efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C. It also seeks to strengthen countries' abilities to deal with the impacts of climate change through adaptation and mitigation efforts.

These international measures represent crucial steps in global climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts. They provide frameworks for countries to work together, set targets, and implement policies to address the challenges posed by climate change.

How does the Greenhouse effect work?

This page likely contains a diagram or detailed explanation of the greenhouse effect process, showing how solar radiation enters the Earth's atmosphere, is absorbed by the surface, and how some of this energy is re-radiated as heat, which is then trapped by greenhouse gases.