What is global warming?

Abstract ‘What is global warming?’ explains what greenhouse gases are and how they act to keep the Earth warm. Measurements of greenhouse gases in ice cores from Antarctica and Greenland have allowed scientists to link high levels of carbon dioxide and methane gases in the atmosphere to global warming. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was created to produce the first international agreement on reducing global man-made greenhouse gas emissions from energy production, industry, transport, and land-use changes. The Kyoto Protocol, theoretical models of climate change, and the ways that the different parts of the climate system interact are discussed to show how future climate change might be predicted.