Carbon is one of the most important elements on Earth - all life forms are based upon carbon compounds. Combined with oxygen it forms carbon dioxide (CO2), an odorless and colorless greenhouse gas that helps regulate the Earth's climate. Human carbon dioxide emissions, or anthropogenic carbon emissions, now threaten to unbalance this natural system leading to global warming.
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Human-induced carbon emissions are produced from power generation, transportation, heating, and other energy-intensive activities. In total, humans produce around 32 gigatons of carbon emissions each year. Half of this is absorbed by vegetation and oceans - the rest stays in the atmosphere.
The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen by about 40 percent since the beginning of the industrial revolution due to man-made factors like deforestation, industrial production, and the burning of fossil fuels. Oceans, one of the most important carbon sinks, are already reaching saturation levels, which threatens to unbalance the natural CO2 cycle even further. Carbon dioxide is only one among six major greenhouse gases, but carbon emissions account for about 60 percent of the man-made greenhouse effect that causes global warming. Other greenhouse gases like ozone or methane trap more heat per molecule, but are not as common and contribute less to global warming.
