Earth Journalism Network

The greenhouse effect is what causes our planet to warm in the presence of increased concentrations of ‘greenhouse’ gases in the atmosphere.

The Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism aims to make it easier for industrialized nations to reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions.

These two proposed approaches to help tackle climate change have divided opinion, as some people say they could create bigger problems than they solve.

In theory, CCS technology will trap carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants to prevent them reaching the atmosphere, but as yet the method is unproven.

Non-polluting sources of renewable energy provide a growing share of global power supplies, but there are many barriers to their wider use.

As climate change takes hold, there is growing interest in nuclear power as a zero-carbon source of energy, but also strong opposition.

Oil spills are among the most emotive forms of environmental pollution because of the visibility of impacts, but their overall threats to human health are generally low.