Please enable JavaScript.

Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.

The Leading Contributors to Climate change, image, image - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Transportation
        
        Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation account for about 29 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, making it the largest contributor of U.S. GHG emissions. Between 1990 and 2021, GHG emissions in the transportation sector increased more in absolute terms than any other sector.
        
        Transportation, particularly cars and planes, significantly affects climate change through the release of greenhouse gases. Cars, especially those fueled by gasoline or diesel, emit carbon dioxide and other pollutants, contributing to global warming. Additionally, the growing number of cars on the road increases the overall emissions from the transportation sector. Similarly, air travel is a major contributor to climate change, primarily due to the high altitude emission of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides. The rapid growth of air travel globally has led to a substantial increase in the aviation industry's carbon footprint, further exacerbating climate change.
  - - - Manufacturing goods
        
        Machines used in the manufacturing process often run on coal, oil, or gas; and some materials, like plastics, are made from chemicals sourced from fossil fuels. The manufacturing industry is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
        
        In fact, our consumer habits are actually driving climate change. A 2015 study found that the production and use of household goods and services was responsible for 60 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Not surprisingly, wealthy countries have the most per capita impact. A new U.N. report found that the richest one percent of the global population emit more than twice the amount than the poorest 50 percent; moreover, the wealthier people become, the more energy they use. A typical American’s yearly carbon emissions are five times that of the world’s average person. In 2009, U.S. consumers with more than $100,000 in yearly household income made up 22.3 percent of the population, yet produced almost one-third of all U.S. households’ total carbon emissions.
- - - - The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has found that emissions from fossil fuels are the dominant cause of global warming. In 2018, 89% of global CO2 emissions came from fossil fuels and industry.
        Coal is a fossil fuel, and is the dirtiest of them all, responsible for over 0.3C of the 1C increase in global average temperatures. This makes it the single largest source of global temperature rise.
        Oil releases a huge amount of carbon when burned - approximately a third of the world’s total carbon emissions. There have also been a number of oil spills in recent years that have a devastating impact on our ocean’s ecosystem.
        Natural gas is often promoted as a cleaner energy source than coal and oil. However, natural gas is still a fossil fuel and accounts for a fifth of the world’s total carbon emissions.
- - - - Food system activities, including producing food, transporting it, and storing wasted food in landfills, produce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that contribute to climate change. Of these sources, livestock production is the largest, accounting for an estimated 14.5 percent of global GHG emissions from human activities.6 Meat from ruminant animals, such as cattle and goats, are particularly emissions-intensive.