What If Carbon Isn’t the Real Driver of Climate Change?
Story by Liz McKinley B.Sc. Environmental Science•
21h
The Greenhouse Gas Puzzle: Beyond Carbon Dioxide
When people talk about climate change, carbon dioxide (CO2) usually steals the spotlight, but there are actually several greenhouse gases warming our planet. Methane, for example, is over 25 times more potent at trapping heat in the atmosphere than CO2 over a 100-year period, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2023).
Nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases, though present in smaller amounts, also have far greater warming effects per molecule. Recent research from 2024 suggests that while CO2 is the most abundant man-made greenhouse gas, methane emissions from agriculture and industry have risen sharply in the past decade, contributing significantly to global temperature rise.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) highlights that methane now accounts for about 20% of total greenhouse gas emissions globally.
This means that focusing solely on CO2 may overlook other powerful contributors to climate warming. Understanding the full greenhouse gas mix is crucial for effective climate action.
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