Glossary

Climate change

Climate change is the long-term alteration of weather patterns in a specific region or globally. It is caused by the emission of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, from human activities, such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation.

The concept of climate change has been recognized for centuries, with some of the earliest discussions of it dating back to the 1800s. In the mid-20th century, scientists began to study the effects of greenhouse gases on the Earth's climate and their findings showed that these emissions were causing the planet to warm.

In the 1980s and 1990s, global climate negotiations began to take place, with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change being established in 1992. The Paris Agreement was reached in 2015, with almost every country in the world committing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to combat climate change.

However, despite these efforts, climate change continues to be a major global issue, with rising temperatures, sea levels, and extreme weather events all contributing to its impacts.
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