Knowra Carbon dioxide emissions Carbon dioxide emissions Carbon dioxide emissions are releases of CO₂ into the atmosphere from natural processes and human activities. Human-caused emissions are a major driver of recent climate change.
Carbon cycle : The movement of carbon among the atmosphere, oceans, land, and living things. It connects emission sources to the sinks and reservoirs that determine atmospheric CO₂ levels.
Greenhouse gas inventory : A systematic accounting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals within a defined boundary. Inventories quantify CO₂ sources and sinks for countries, regions, or organizations.
Greenhouse effect : The warming of a planet's surface and lower atmosphere as greenhouse gases absorb and re-emit infrared radiation. Added CO₂ strengthens this physical process and traps more heat in Earth's climate system.
Natural carbon emissions : Carbon dioxide releases from natural processes such as respiration, decomposition, and volcanic activity. They are part of the carbon cycle, unlike the net addition from fossil carbon use.
Fossil fuel combustion : The reaction of coal, oil, or natural gas with oxygen, releasing energy and carbon dioxide. Burning fossil fuels is the largest source of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions.
Carbon footprint : The greenhouse gas emissions associated with an activity, product, person, or organization. Footprints translate emissions into an attributed total for a chosen boundary.
Global warming : The long-term rise in Earth's average surface temperature, chiefly caused by human greenhouse gas emissions. Cumulative CO₂ emissions are closely linked to the amount of warming they cause.
Methane emissions : Releases of methane into the atmosphere from natural sources and human activities. Methane is another major greenhouse gas, with different sources and atmospheric behavior from CO₂.
Cement production : The manufacture of cement, including heating limestone to produce clinker. Limestone chemistry releases CO₂ independently of the fuel burned in cement kilns.
Life-cycle assessment : A method for assessing environmental impacts across a product's or service's life cycle. It can reveal emissions shifted between production, use, and disposal stages.
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