Climate change is real and the world must act to mitigate its impact and keep global temperatures within a safe limit.

Climate change is caused by both the loss of our earth’s natural carbon sinks (such as forests that absorb carbon) and the increase of greenhouse gases5 in the atmosphere (produced through the burning of fossil fuels).
The earth is kept at a habitable temperature through a natural process called the greenhouse effect, in which certain gases trap heat within the atmosphere by absorbing thermal infrared radiation and redirecting it towards the surface. Normally, this process traps enough heat in our atmosphere to keep our planet at a temperature that can support life.

But human activity is changing the composition of our atmosphere by releasing higher quantities of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide into the atmosphere. We do this, amongst other activities, through our energy and transportation systems, through agriculture, including changing the uses of land for grazing and crop production, and through our waste systems.