Climate change is the world's single biggest environmental challenge. Private and industrial Greenhouse Gas emissions will cause significant global environmental damage ("global warming") unless action is taken to reduce the level of carbon in the atmosphere.

Greenhouse gases include Carbon Dioxide, Methane and Nitrous Oxide, Perfluorocarbons, hydroflurocarbons and Sulphur Hexafluruoride. But the main gas is Carbon Dioxide CO2.

Greenhouse gases act like a blanket around the Earth - effectively overheating it and causing changes to the climate. Greenhouse gas is generated by emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels ie. burning of petrol through a car or aeroplane engine, or the burning of coal to generate electricity. Everyday activities such as driving, using electricity and flying contribute to the emission of greenhouse gas.

Australia is one of the highest greenhouse gas producers per capita in the world and if we continue to use fossil fuels at current rates, we will soon trigger irreversible and catastrophic changes to our weather and our planet.

Over the past 100 years, the Earth's global mean surface temperature has increased by between 0.4° to 0.8° Celsius. This temperature may not seem like much, however even changes as small as 1 degree Celsius can have huge effects on the environment.

The effects of global warming are already in evidence. As the Earth heats up, extreme weather conditions like tropical storms, cyclones and bushfires will become more frequent; crops will fail; the polar icecaps will melt and sea levels will rise.

The Greenhouse Effect

The main gases in the Earth's atmosphere, nitrogen and oxygen, are almost completely transparent to the sun's rays. But water vapour, carbon dioxide and other gases form a blanket around the Earth, trapping heat. This process is known as the greenhouse effect.

Human activity is increasing atmospheric concentrations of existing greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide and methane). A number of experts believe that these gases are linked to global warming and climate change by way of an enhanced greenhouse effect.