Climate change and targets

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Some gases in the Earth's atmosphere act a bit like the glass in a greenhouse, trapping the sun's heat and stopping it from leaking back into space.

Many of these gases occur naturally, but human activity is increasing the concentrations of some of them in the atmosphere, in particular:

  1. •

    carbon dioxide (CO2)

  2. •

    methane

  3. •

    nitrous oxide

  4. •

    fluorinated gases (F-gases)

CO2 is the greenhouse gas (GHG) most commonly produced by human activities and it is responsible for a high proportion of man-made global warming.

For more on air pollution generally, see: Air pollution—overview.  

Targets to drive progress

GHG emissions reduction targets provide the backbone to energy policy and legislation at the international, European and national levels.

The main purpose of emissions targets and carbon budgets is to:

  1. •

    drive progress for climate change adaptation and mitigation

  2. •

    assist carbon accounting

  3. •

    provide stability for investment decisions

  4. •

    encourage behaviour change

International

It was not until 1990 that an international legal mechanism began forming to address global warming—considered to be the most urgent environmental issue facing humankind

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