CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate change is one of the greatest environmental, social and economic threats facing the planet. The warming of the climate system is explicit, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising sea level. Most of the warming that has occurred over the last 50 years is likely to have been caused by human activities. Human activities that contribute to climate change include in particular the burning of fossil fuels, agriculture and land-use changes like deforestation. These cause emissions of carbon dioxide, the main gas responsible for climate change, as well as of other 'greenhouse' gases. To bring climate change to a halt, global greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced significantly.