After covering the basic terms of climate, it’s time to dig deeper. Climate change goes beyond industry jargon and is a pressing issue on everyone's radar.
Recent studies by the UN Environment Programme emphasised that current global pledges are woefully inadequate to limit warming to 1.5°C. There is a 90% likelihood that global temperatures could rise by as much as 3.5°C if stronger actions are not taken.
With this in mind, it’s necessary to understand the mechanisms driving these changes. In this article, we will quickly recap the fundamentals of climate change and then focus on the role of feedback loops, and natural processes that can amplify or mitigate climate impacts.
The atmosphere helps keep us warm due to a phenomenon known as the greenhouse effect. This is caused by greenhouse gases (GHGs), including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH 4 ), and nitrous oxide (N ₂O), which trap heat like a blanket around the Earth.
Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperature and weather patterns. Over the eons, Earth has experienced several dramatic climate shifts. However, this current period of climate change is primarily caused by human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels.
When we burn fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, we release GHGs into the atmosphere. As these gases build up, we enhance the greenhouse effect warming up our planet. The result is a gradual increase in the Earth's average temperature and alterations in weather patterns – which is climate change.
Climate change isn't caused by just one factor: it's the result of multiple interconnected influences, mostly stemming from human activities. As industrialisation has surged, so has the burning of fossil fuels, which is the leading source of greenhouse gases.
These emissions not only heat the planet but also disrupt natural processes that help regulate the climate. Deforestation, which reduces the number of trees available to absorb CO2, and industrial activities, which release potent greenhouse gases, are examples of how small environmental changes can accumulate.
When these changes build up, they can reach a tipping point. At this critical juncture, the impact becomes so significant that it leads to long-term consequences that are difficult, if not impossible, to reverse or restore to a healthy state.
Feedback loops are natural processes that can amplify (positive feedback) or dampen (negative feedback) the effects of climate change. These loops play a critical role in determining the pace and severity of climate impacts.
Let’s start with positive feedback loops. A positive feedback loop intensifies the effects of an initial change, making the system more unstable.
Consider the example of the loss of tropical rainforests. When rainforests are cleared, they release stored carbon dioxide and reduce the Earth’s capacity to absorb CO2. The increased carbon dioxide contributes to global warming, which leads to drier conditions and more forest fires.
This further depletes the rainforest and worsens the warming effect, creating a feedback loop that drives even more forest loss and climate change.
Positive feedback loops like these can push Earth’s systems past critical tipping points, making it challenging to restore balance. Picture a snowball rolling downhill: as it gathers speed and size, it becomes harder to stop or redirect.
On the flip side, negative feedback loops work to stabilise the system, counteracting changes and helping restore balance.
A good example is the formation of clouds. As temperatures rise, more water evaporates, increasing cloud cover.
These clouds then reflect sunlight into space, which helps cool the Earth. In this way, negative feedback loops act as a natural brake on climate change—though they’re not enough to stop it on their own.
Understanding feedback loops is crucial for two reasons. First, positive feedback loops could accelerate climate change beyond what we currently predict, making it even more urgent to cut emissions.
Second, while negative feedback loops can help mitigate some of the damage, they aren’t a cure-all. We still need to focus on reducing emissions and implementing solutions like renewable energy and carbon capture.
While climate change is driven by human activity, natural processes like feedback loops can either accelerate or slow down its effects.
Despite all the attention on climate change and the technology we have to fight it, global efforts are still falling far short of what's needed, according to research.
What makes this even more urgent is that we already have many solutions, but they aren't being used enough because of political challenges, lack of funding, and slow implementation.
If we don't take action soon, natural feedback loops could make things worse, pushing the crisis past the point where we can easily fix it. Governments, businesses, and individuals all need to step up now to make sure we don't run out of time.