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"Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a gas essential for life- animals exhale it, plants sequester it. It exists in Earth's atmosphere in comparably small concentrations, but is vital for sustaining life. CO2 is termed a greenhouse gas (GHG) - a gas which absorbs and emits thermal radiation creating the 'greenhouse effect'. Along with other greenhouse gases, such as nitrous oxide and methane, CO2 is important in sustaining a habitable temperature for the planet: if there were absolutely no GHGs, our planet would be simply too cold. It has been estimated that without these gases, the average surface temperature of the Earth would be about -18 degrees celcius.1 Since the Industrial Revolution, however, energy-driven consumption of fossil fuels has led to a rapid increase in emissions of CO2, disrupting the global carbon cycle and leading to a planetary warming impact. As an international community, UN member parties have set a target of limiting average warming to 2 degrees celcius above pre-Industrial temperatures."

"Cuando oímos hablar del calentamiento global nos viene en seguida a la mente una molécula: el CO2. No es de extrañar, pues este gas es la causa número uno del cambio climático antropogénico y, por tanto, centra la atención de las políticas de mitigación. Sabemos, porque lo hemos oído hasta la saciedad, que el CO2 escapa por las chimeneas de las centrales térmicas, las industrias y los tubos de escape de nuestros coches. Sin embargo, al centrarnos casi en exclusiva en el dióxido de carbono, apenas prestamos atención al metano (CH4), que es relegado al papel de hermano menor a pesar de que su contribución al forzamiento radiativo de la atmósfera no es en absoluto despreciable, como se desprende de los informes del Grupo Intergubernamental de Expertos sobre el Cambio Climático."