Do you know the impact of carbon dioxide on climate change?
It’s crucial for you to understand how this gas traps heat and contributes to the greenhouse effect.
The burning of fossil fuels and deforestation are major sources of carbon dioxide emissions.
As you read on, we will explore the carbon cycle and its role in this complex issue.
Arm yourself with knowledge to better comprehend the relationship between carbon dioxide and climate change.
Key Takeaways
- Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that absorbs and emits heat energy, contributing to the greenhouse effect.
- Burning fossil fuels and deforestation are human activities that intensify the greenhouse effect by releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
- Approximately 90% of human-made carbon dioxide emissions come from burning fossil fuels.
- Deforestation is responsible for about 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions, as trees act as carbon sinks and their removal releases stored carbon back into the atmosphere.
Trapping Heat
To understand the impact of carbon dioxide on climate change, you need to know how it traps heat.
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, meaning it has the ability to absorb and emit heat energy.
When sunlight reaches the Earth’s surface, it warms the planet. Some of this heat is then radiated back into space, while the rest is trapped by greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide.
As carbon dioxide levels increase in the atmosphere, more heat is trapped, leading to a phenomenon known as the greenhouse effect. This effect causes the Earth’s temperature to rise, resulting in climate change.
The increased concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, primarily due to human activities such as burning fossil fuels, is amplifying this greenhouse effect and contributing to global warming.
Greenhouse Effect
As carbon dioxide levels increase in the atmosphere, it traps more heat, leading to the greenhouse effect. This phenomenon occurs when certain gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor, absorb and re-emit infrared radiation from the Earth’s surface. These gases act like a blanket, trapping heat and preventing it from escaping back into space.
As a result, the Earth’s temperature rises, causing changes in climate patterns and weather conditions. The greenhouse effect is a natural process that has been occurring for millions of years, keeping the planet warm enough to support life. However, human activities, such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation, have significantly increased the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, intensifying the greenhouse effect and contributing to global warming.
Fossil Fuel Combustion
Burning fossil fuels releases large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, exacerbating the greenhouse effect and amplifying climate change. Fossil fuel combustion is the process of burning coal, oil, and natural gas to produce energy for various purposes, such as electricity generation, transportation, and industrial processes.
When these fuels are burned, carbon dioxide is released as a byproduct. This carbon dioxide then accumulates in the atmosphere, trapping heat and contributing to the warming of the planet. It’s estimated that about 90% of human-made carbon dioxide emissions come from the burning of fossil fuels.
As a result, reducing our dependence on these fuels and transitioning to cleaner energy sources is crucial in mitigating the impacts of climate change.
Deforestation
When it comes to addressing the issue of deforestation, you need to be aware of the significant role it plays in contributing to carbon dioxide emissions and exacerbating climate change.
Deforestation is the clearing of forests for purposes such as agriculture, logging, or urbanization. Trees act as carbon sinks, meaning they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in their biomass.
When forests are cut down, the stored carbon is released back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, deforestation is responsible for about 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions.
Additionally, forests also play a crucial role in regulating the climate by influencing rainfall patterns and maintaining biodiversity.
Thus, addressing deforestation is essential in mitigating climate change and preserving the health of our planet.
Carbon Cycle
To understand the impact of deforestation on carbon dioxide emissions and climate change, it’s crucial to delve into the carbon cycle. The carbon cycle is the process by which carbon moves between the atmosphere, land, and oceans. It’s a natural and necessary process that helps regulate the Earth’s climate.
Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, plays a significant role in the carbon cycle. Plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis, converting it into organic matter. When plants die and decompose, or when forests are burned, carbon is released back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
Deforestation disrupts this cycle by eliminating the trees that absorb carbon dioxide, leading to an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and contributing to climate change. Therefore, understanding and protecting the carbon cycle is crucial for mitigating the effects of deforestation on climate change.
Conclusion
So there you have it, now you know the basics about carbon dioxide and its role in climate change.
It traps heat, contributes to the greenhouse effect, and is primarily emitted through fossil fuel combustion and deforestation.
Understanding the carbon cycle is key to addressing this issue.
By reducing our carbon emissions and promoting sustainable practices, we can work towards mitigating the impacts of climate change and preserving our planet for future generations.
The case shows that climate change is a fundamental human rights violation—and the victory of Bonaire, a Dutch territory, could open the door for similar lawsuits globally.
From our collaborating partner Living on Earth, public radio’s environmental news magazine, an interview by Paloma Beltran with Greenpeace Netherlands campaigner Eefje de Kroon.
A Tiny Caribbean Island Sued the Netherlands Over Climate Change, and Won
Climate Change
Greenpeace organisations to appeal USD $345 million court judgment in Energy Transfer’s intimidation lawsuit
SYDNEY, Saturday 28 February 2026 — Greenpeace International and Greenpeace organisations in the US announce they will seek a new trial and, if necessary, appeal the decision with the North Dakota Supreme Court following a North Dakota District Court judgment today awarding Energy Transfer (ET) USD $345 million.
ET’s SLAPP suit remains a blatant attempt to silence free speech, erase Indigenous leadership of the Standing Rock movement, and punish solidarity with peaceful resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline. Greenpeace International will also continue to seek damages for ET’s bullying lawsuits under EU anti-SLAPP legislation in the Netherlands.
Mads Christensen, Greenpeace International Executive Director said: “Energy Transfer’s attempts to silence us are failing. Greenpeace International will continue to resist intimidation tactics. We will not be silenced. We will only get louder, joining our voices to those of our allies all around the world against the corporate polluters and billionaire oligarchs who prioritise profits over people and the planet.
“With hard-won freedoms under threat and the climate crisis accelerating, the stakes of this legal fight couldn’t be higher. Through appeals in the US and Greenpeace International’s groundbreaking anti-SLAPP case in the Netherlands, we are exploring every option to hold Energy Transfer accountable for multiple abusive lawsuits and show all power-hungry bullies that their attacks will only result in a stronger people-powered movement.”
The Court’s final judgment today rejects some of the jury verdict delivered in March 2025, but still awards hundreds of millions of dollars to ET without a sound basis in law. The Greenpeace defendants will continue to press their arguments that the US Constitution does not allow liability here, that ET did not present evidence to support its claims, that the Court admitted inflammatory and irrelevant evidence at trial and excluded other evidence supporting the defense, and that the jury pool in Mandan could not be impartial.[1][2]
ET’s back-to-back lawsuits against Greenpeace International and the US organisations Greenpeace USA (Greenpeace Inc.) and Greenpeace Fund are clear-cut examples of SLAPPs — lawsuits attempting to bury nonprofits and activists in legal fees, push them towards bankruptcy and ultimately silence dissent.[3] Greenpeace International, which is based in the Netherlands, is pursuing justice in Europe, with a suit against ET under Dutch law and the European Union’s new anti-SLAPP directive, a landmark test of the new legislation which could help set a powerful precedent against corporate bullying.[4]
Kate Smolski, Program Director at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said: “This is part of a worrying trend globally: fossil fuel corporations are increasingly using litigation to attack and silence ordinary people and groups using the law to challenge their polluting operations — and we’re not immune to these tactics here in Australia.
“Rulings like this have a chilling effect on democracy and public interest litigation — we must unite against these silencing tactics as bad for Australians and bad for our democracy. Our movement is stronger than any corporate bully, and grows even stronger when under attack.”
Energy Transfer’s SLAPPs are part of a wave of abusive lawsuits filed by Big Oil companies like Shell, Total, and ENI against Greenpeace entities in recent years.[3] A couple of these cases have been successfully stopped in their tracks. This includes Greenpeace France successfully defeating TotalEnergies’ SLAPP on 28 March 2024, and Greenpeace UK and Greenpeace International forcing Shell to back down from its SLAPP on 10 December 2024.
-ENDS-
Images available in Greenpeace Media Library
Notes:
[1] The judgment entered by North Dakota District Court Judge Gion follows a jury verdict finding Greenpeace entities liable for more than US$660 million on March 19, 2025. Judge Gion subsequently threw out several items from the jury’s verdict, reducing the total damages to approximately US$345 million.
[2] Public statements from the independent Trial Monitoring Committee
[3] Energy Transfer’s first lawsuit was filed in federal court in 2017 under the RICO Act – the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a US federal statute designed to prosecute mob activity. The case was dismissed in 2019, with the judge stating the evidence fell “far short” of what was needed to establish a RICO enterprise. The federal court did not decide on Energy Transfer’s claims based on state law, so Energy Transfer promptly filed a new case in a North Dakota state court with these and other state law claims.
[4] Greenpeace International sent a Notice of Liability to Energy Transfer on 23 July 2024, informing the pipeline giant of Greenpeace International’s intention to bring an anti-SLAPP lawsuit against the company in a Dutch Court. After Energy Transfer declined to accept liability on multiple occasions (September 2024, December 2024), Greenpeace International initiated the first test of the European Union’s anti-SLAPP Directive on 11 February 2025 by filing a lawsuit in Dutch court against Energy Transfer. The case was officially registered in the docket of the Court of Amsterdam on 2 July, 2025. Greenpeace International seeks to recover all damages and costs it has suffered as a result of Energy Transfers’s back-to-back, abusive lawsuits demanding hundreds of millions of dollars from Greenpeace International and the Greenpeace organisations in the US. The next hearing in the Court of Amsterdam is scheduled for 16 April, 2026.
Media contact:
Kate O’Callaghan on 0406 231 892 or kate.ocallaghan@greenpeace.org
The Trump administration’s relentless rollback of public health and environmental protections has allowed widespread toxic exposures to flourish, warn experts who helped implement safeguards now under assault.
In a new report that outlines a dozen high-risk pollutants given new life thanks to weakened, delayed or rescinded regulations, the Environmental Protection Network, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group of hundreds of former Environmental Protection Agency staff, warns that the EPA under President Donald Trump has abandoned the agency’s core mission of protecting people and the environment from preventable toxic exposures.
Former EPA Staff Detail Expanding Pollution Risks Under Trump
A Tiny Caribbean Island Sued the Netherlands Over Climate Change, and Won
Greenpeace organisations to appeal USD $345 million court judgment in Energy Transfer’s intimidation lawsuit
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