No, there is no lack of scientific proof that carbon dioxide causes global warming

By: Emmi Kivi
August 11 2023

Share Article:

Context

A video circulating on Facebook shows former Greenpeace director Dr. Patrick Moore claiming that there is no definite scientific proof that carbon dioxide (CO2) is causing the Earth to warm. Moore also denies that CO2 is a pollutant and questions its harmfulness, adding that more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is good since it “was running low” before human interference. Moore is also convinced that “the future will show that this whole hysteria over climate change was a complete fabrication.”

Moore is a climate change denier known to make false claims about global warming and climate change which lack scientific basis. Greenpeace has denied suggestions Moore is a co-founder of Greenpeace, but a former activist and has operated as a paid spokesman for various polluting industries for over three decades.

In fact

According to the NOAA Global Monitoring Lab, ”In 2021, carbon dioxide alone was responsible for about two-thirds of the total heating influence of all human-produced greenhouse gases.” For nearly two centuries, scientists have understood the physics explaining how greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, cause warming. Most scientists and climate experts agree today that the greenhouse effect is the main contributor to global warming. 

As a greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide emits and absorbs heat as an insulating blanket around the Earth. It prevents the heat from escaping into space and traps it on Earth’s surface, a process known as the greenhouse effect. Carbon dioxide derives from using fossil fuels, from events like wildfires and natural phenomena such as volcanic eruptions. The greenhouse effect is indeed a natural process critical in keeping the Earth at a suitable temperature for life. Otherwise, the heat emitted by the Earth would emanate outwards. Speaking with Columbia Climate School's news site State of the Planet, Jason Smerdon, a climate scientist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, explained, “In the case of greenhouse gases, the planet’s temperature is a balance between how much energy comes in versus how much energy goes out. Ultimately, any increase in the amount of heat-trapping means that the Earth’s surface gets hotter.”

According to NASA, human activities have raised atmospheric carbon dioxide levels by 50 percent in less than 200 years. Human action releases more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than the natural carbon sinks, such as plants, soil, and the oceans do not function fast enough to remove the excess heat. This causes the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide to increase and contributes to Earth’s warming.

Global warming and climate change are real phenomena exacerbated by human influence. The overwhelming evidence of temperature taken since the mid-1800s, geological records, and satellite images confirm detectable shifts in the Earth’s climate, such as rising temperatures, melting ice sheets, and rising sea levels. Logically Facts has previously debunked multiple false and misleading claims about global warming and climate change.

The verdict

Carbon dioxide emissions are a major driver of global warming. For nearly 200 years, scientists have understood carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases warm the Earth. Standing the test of time, most scientists today agree that the greenhouse effect is the main contributor to global warming. Scientific information gathered from temperature measurements, natural sources, and modern equipment demonstrates that global warming and climate change are occurring. Therefore, we marked the claim as false.