What Is Climate Change?
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What Is Climate Change?
Climate change refers to long-term shifts in global temperatures and weather patterns. While the climate has always changed naturally over thousands of years, scientists point to the rapid warming observed since the mid-20th century as being driven primarily by human activity — a pace of change far faster than natural cycles alone would produce.
What Causes It?
The main driver is the greenhouse effect: burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas releases carbon dioxide and other gases that trap heat in the atmosphere, similar to how a greenhouse traps warmth. Major contributing sources include electricity and heat production, transportation, industrial processes, and deforestation, which reduces the number of trees available to absorb carbon dioxide from the air.
Observed Effects and What You Can Do
Documented effects include rising average global temperatures, more frequent and intense heatwaves, shifting rainfall patterns leading to both droughts and heavier flooding in different regions, melting glaciers and polar ice, and rising sea levels that threaten coastal communities. At an individual and business level, meaningful steps include improving energy efficiency (like using LED lighting and efficient heat pumps), reducing unnecessary travel, supporting renewable energy where available, and reducing waste. No single action solves the issue, but efficiency improvements at scale — across homes, offices and data centres — meaningfully reduce cumulative energy demand.