The Earth’s climate system is a balancing act influenced by multiple factors that determine the planet’s temperature, precipitation patterns, and weather events. One of the vital elements in this system is greenhouse gases, the chemicals responsible for regulating Earth’s temperature and ensuring it can support life. Nonetheless, this balance has been significantly disrupted by human actions, which have drastically altered the atmospheric makeup. As a result, the climate system is exhibiting unparalleled behaviour, threatening ecosystems, economies, and countries across the globe. The following discussion will explore the science of greenhouse gases, including their sources, sinks, and significance for global warming.
● Understanding Greenhouse Gases: The Basics
Greenhouse gases are molecules in the Earth’s atmosphere that can trap heat and radiate some of it back toward our planet’s surface. Even though greenhouse gases account for a small part of the atmosphere, their impact on Earth’s energy balance is significant. The most prominent greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases. These are hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulphur hexafluoride.
● Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The origin of greenhouse gas emissions involves a fraction emitted from natural sources and a fraction released from human activities. However, human activities have dominated greenhouse gas emissions, especially in the past few decades. More than 75% of carbon dioxide emissions arise from activities such as burning fossil fuels to generate energy, transportation and industrial
processes. Deforestation, as well as changes in land use, releases significant amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere by limiting the absorption capacity of the earth, naturally by plants through photosynthesis.
Methane emissions originate from diverse sources, while the heaviest emitters include agricultural activities, such as livestock farming and rice cultivation, landfills and natural gas production in addition to its distribution, and wastewater treatment. Although methane represents a lower proportion of total greenhouse gas emissions compared to CO2, it has a more potent
greenhouse effect over 20 years. The origin of nitrous oxide is connected to agricultural activities, such as the application of fertilisers, livestock manure management and biomass burning, and industrial processes, including those of fossil fuel combustion.
Nitrous oxide has the dual effect of being a greenhouse gas in addition to contributing to stratospheric ozone layer depletion thus drawing climate change and atmospheric chemistry.
- Rising Temperatures: rising temperatures where global average temperatures have been progressively rising in the last century. In addition, the latest decades have recorded the highest years in temperature. High temperatures result in frequent and intense heat waves and heat-related health problems for vulnerable populations and areas.
- Changing Weather Patterns: there are changing weather patterns due to climate, and the system responds to emissions by altering rainfall patterns and weather phenomena, which increase the frequency and intensity of extreme events.
- Melting Ice Caps and Glaciers: here is the melting of ice caps and glaciers due to the warming climate, which results in the melting of polar ice caps, ice sheets, and glaciers, leading to sea-level rise and coastal erosion. Further, the melting of ice has significant
consequences on ecosystems and ecosystem services. - Ocean Acidification: there is ocean acidification that is caused by high CO2 in the air which leads to more CO2 absorbed by the oceans, which leads to ocean acidification. This has serious consequences for the marine system impacting coral reefs, shellfish, and other calcifying organisms and hence entire food webs and fisheries.
- Impacts on Agriculture and Food Security: changes in temperature, precipitation, and extreme weather events affect agricultural productivity, food availability, and food security. Crop yields may decline in some regions due to heat stress, water scarcity, and pest outbreaks, exacerbating hunger and malnutrition, particularly in developing countries.
● Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Pathways to Climate Action
The challenge of climate change needs to be addressed urgently through multidisciplinary and collaborative interventions to mitigate greenhouse gases and promote adaptation to allow sustainable development within the ecosystem. Some major strategies for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases include:
- Transitioning to renewable energy: it could be done by speeding up the adoption of solar, wind, hydroelectric and other electricity sources to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and lower energy-related carbon emission
- Improving Energy Efficiency: through addressing buildings, modes of transport, industrial processes, and home appliances to reduce energy consumption, cut greenhouse gas emissions, save cost, and boost competitiveness.
- Promoting Sustainable Land Use: using that involves protecting forests, rehabilitating previously degraded lands and embracing practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions promote carbon sequestration and eliminate deforestation while conserving biodiversity.
- Circular Economy Ideal: ensures that waste is not generated whenever the product is created and it does not emanate on disposal. It involves ensuring waste does not get generated during production and disposal.
Other methods include promoting climate-smart agriculture and building climate resilience.
● Conclusion: Charting a Sustainable Future
To conclude, greenhouse gases have remained at the centre of the debate regarding climate change. Given the implications for ecosystems, economies, and societies across the world, this challenge is a priority for the future. Therefore, there is a need for immediate, bold, and proactive action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions dramatically. Such action should be coupled with
efforts to facilitate adaptation to changing patterns and strengthen resilience to climate impacts. Solidarity, sustainable development goals, and cooperation within and among countries remain
our only hope to guarantee a sustainable and resilient future for all. Let’s act sharply to solve climate change from the root cause and ensure a world that is safe for present and future generations.
ARTICLE WRITTEN BY TANYA CHAWLA
