Do Human Greenhouse Gas Emissions Cause Significant Climate Change?

by F. Menton, Oct 25, 2023 in ClimateChangeDispatch


It’s by far the most important scientific question of our age: Do human emissions of CO2 and other such “greenhouse gases” cause significant global warming, aka “climate change”?

Based on the belief that an affirmative answer to that question is a universally accepted truth, our government has embarked on a multi-trillion dollar campaign to transform our economy by, among other things, eliminating hydrocarbon fuels from electricity generation (without any demonstrated workable plan for the replacement), outlawing the kinds of vehicles we currently drive, suppressing fossil fuel extraction, banning pipeline construction, making all your appliances work less well, and much more. [emphasis, links added]

Express any doubt about the causal connection between human activities and climate change, and you could very well get labeled as a “climate denier,” fired from your academic job, demonetized by Google or Facebook, or even completely ostracized from polite society.

But is there actually any real proof of the proposition at issue? In fact, there is not.

I had two important posts on this subject back in 2021: one from January 2, titled: “Causation Of Climate Change, And The Scientific Method,” and the other from October 28, titled: “ ‘The Climate Is Changing And Human Activities Are The Cause’: How, Exactly, Do We Know That?”

See also: To what extent are temperature levels changing due to greenhouse gas emissions?