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| - Fact Check: SM post suggesting UK’s contribution to climate change is negligible is Misleading
Global warming is the rise in the average temperature of the Earth’s surface. It is caused by the release of greenhouse
Claim :Social media post shows calculations to suggest UK’s contribution to climate change is negligible
Fact :The post shares misleading figures and calculations about carbon dioxide emissions in UK
Global warming is the rise in the average temperature of the Earth’s surface. It is caused by the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, primarily from burning fossil fuels and deforestation, these emissions have significantly risen since the start of the industrial revolution. Most of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions come from a relatively small number of countries. China, United states and Nations of European Union are the largest emitters.
Meanwhile, a post in circulation on the social media claims that the UK produces under 1% of global CO2 emissions. The posts also show stats that CO2 is 0.04% of the atmosphere, humans create 3% of the 0.04% which is 0.0012%. So UK is responsible for 1% of the 3% of 0.04% which is 0.000012%. It also adds that cow farts create 4% of the UK emissions. So 4% of 1% of 3% of 0.04% which is 0.0000003%.
This post tones down human contribution to the Climate change.
Here is the archive link of the Claim.
Fact Check:
The claim is Misleading. Though percentage of CO2 is low in the atmosphere, the relative increase in the Carbon Dioxide concentrations shows the contribution of the human beings in pushing its quantity.
Firstly, let us understand how CO2 drives global warming, even though it’s concentration is only 0.04% of the atmosphere. Earth absorbs energy from sunlight, but as the surface warms, it also emits energy in the form of infrared radiation (which we know of as heat) out into space. Water vapor and CO2, however, act like a cap, making it more difficult for Earth to get rid of this energy. Without gases like these to absorb the energy, our planet’s average surface temperature would have been near zero degrees Fahrenheit.
CO2 makes up only about 0.04% of the atmosphere, and water vapor can vary from 0-4%. But while water vapor is the dominant greenhouse gas in our atmosphere, it has “windows” that allow some of the infrared energy to escape without being absorbed. In addition, water vapor is concentrated lower in the atmosphere, whereas CO2 mixes well all the way to about 50 kilometers up. The higher the greenhouse gas, the more effective it is at trapping heat from the Earth’s surface.
The burning of fossil fuels affects the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. Before the industrial revolution, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere was about 288 ppm. We have now reached about 414 ppm, so we are on the way to doubling the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere by the end of this century. Scientists say that if CO2 doubles, it could raise the average global temperature of the Earth up to 2-5 degrees Celsius. We are already increasing the amount of energy that bounces back to the Earth. Because of the greenhouse effect, this is causing global warming with its many destructive impacts.
When we searched for the contributions of UK to the climate change, we found that UK is one of the countries most responsible for climate change. This is because it has emitted so much greenhouse gas since the start of the Industrial Revolution, and these historical emissions are still accumulated in the atmosphere today, contributing to the climate crisis. Furthermore, while the UK has been reducing its emissions within its border in the last few decades, a very significant proportion of emissions from the UK is generated elsewhere in the world to supply the UK’s imports and through international flights. The UK’s responsibility further increases when we consider emissions per person instead of the total emissions by a country.
Cow belching is also a major cause of global warming. But they emit methane and not CO2. Cow belching is caused by a process called enteric fermentation that contributes to methane emissions. Enteric fermentation is the digestive process in which sugars are broken down into simpler molecules for absorption into the bloodstream. This process also produces methane as a by-product. However, a small percentage of methane is also produced in the cow’s large intestine and released. Additionally, significant amounts of this greenhouse gas are generated in settling ponds and lagoons used for processing cow manure.
In 2021, livestock accounted for 62% of agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions. Hence, the post uses wrong calculations in relation to the emission of greenhouse gases. The claim is Misleading.
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