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Climate-Fueled Extreme Weather Events Are Worsening. We Need Action at COP29

Union of Concerned Scientists

In this blog, I explain the science behind these extreme weather events and pinpoint how additional heat-trapping emissions in Earth’s atmosphere are responsible. The Earth is warming The burning of fossil fuels has led to an increase in pollutants such as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere since the industrial revolution began in the 1800s.

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Twenty years of blogging in hindsight

Real Climate

It shows the atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and tells a story about the carbon cycle, involving Earth’s crust, the atmosphere, land surface, the biosphere, and the oceans. The Keeling curve, highlighted with the release of important climate reports and climate summits.

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The unconventional scientist who predicted that rising carbon dioxide levels would change the climate

Physics World

In fact, in 1938 Sir George Simpson, a leading meteorologist, dismissed the link between rising carbon-dioxide (CO 2 ) concentration and temperature as “ rather a coincidence ”. The non-expert in question was Guy Callendar , a British steam engineer doing his own atmospheric research at home.

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A Nobel pursuit

Real Climate

In this, he is in violent agreement with Isaac Held, his colleague at GFDL, and indeed most climate scientists. The key aspects were the inclusion of water vapour feedback as temperatures increased, and the use of ‘convective adjustment’ to maintain stability of the lower atmospheric column. 1975) , and Bryan et al.

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Deciphering the ‘SPM AR6 WG1’ code

Real Climate

Another clue indicating a shortcoming is if you look at the atmospheric CO 2 -concentrations over time to see how much impact the IPCC reports have had on the real policy-makers in the world (Figure below). The cause of our changing climate is the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations that we have released into the air.

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Science denial is still an issue ahead of COP28

Real Climate

Figure 2: Carbon dioxide levels and global temperature over the past 2022 years. Carbon dioxide data from air bubbles enclosed in Antarctic ice. Ed Hawkins, National Centre for Atmospheric Science. The authors have clearly swallowed a great mouthful of the toxic brew found on climate denial websites.

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An A to Z of Fossil Fuel Industry Deception

Union of Concerned Scientists

M is for Methane Methane, the main component of fossil (so-called “natural”) gas, is about 80 times more potent in warming the atmosphere over a 20-year period than carbon dioxide. However, a 2022 investigation by Global Witness found that the plant actually emits more carbon dioxide than it captures.