CLAIM: A post is trending on Twitter, where a user, Peter Clack described fossil fuels, a fiction that global warming has nothing to do with nor the same thing as carbon dioxide (CO2).
“Global warming is not about ‘fossil fuels’ (a fiction) or carbon dioxide. It’s a way to snatch control of wealth & power by the WEF & UN, to stop greedy/selfish humans eating & farming. How dare we? The 11.7K yr warm Holocene made human society possible & created the extra CO2,” Clack claimed in the post.
Meanwhile, the claim, which was posted on Oct. 9, has been retweeted by 1,359 other users, and liked by 2,478, with 59 comments as of Oct. 16.
Global warming is not about ‘fossil fuels’ (a fiction) or carbon dioxide. It’s a way to snatch control of wealth & power by the WEF & UN, to stop greedy/selfish humans eating & farming. How dare we? The 11.7K yr warm Holocene made human society possible & created the extra CO2. pic.twitter.com/PKgcQ3Seei
— Peter Clack (@PeterDClack) October 9, 2022
VERIFICATION: According to NASA, global warming is the long-term heating of Earth’s surface observed since the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities, primarily fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere.
NASA, an independent agency of the United States Federal Government, which is responsible for the civil space programme, aeronautics research, and space research, noted, however, that the term ‘global warming’ is not interchangeable with the term “climate change.”
Cambridge Dictionary defines fossil fuels as fuels, such as gas, coal, and oil, that were formed underground from plant and animal remains millions of years ago.
Similarly, in its own studies, New York-based Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC) averred that global warming occurs when carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air pollutants collect in the atmosphere and absorb sunlight and solar radiation that have bounced off the earth’s surface.
How fossil fuels raise the level of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas in the atmosphere
Giving credence to the claim that fossil fuels cause global warming, ClientEarth, the world’s most ambitious environmental organisation said, when fossil fuels are burned, they release large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas, into the air.
These greenhouse gases, it notes, trap heat in the atmosphere, thereby causing global warming and already, the average global temperature has increased by 1 degree Celsius.
In the same vein, United Nations agreed with the fore submissions, with a further claim that fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – are by far the largest contributor to global climate change, accounting for over 75 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions.
“As greenhouse gas emissions blanket the Earth, they trap the sun’s heat. This leads to global warming and climate change.
“The world is now warming faster than at any point in recorded history. Warmer temperatures over time are changing weather patterns and disrupting the usual balance of nature,” said the global intergovernmental organisation.
CONCLUSION: The claim that global warming has nothing to do with fossil fuels and carbon dioxide is FALSE. Several studies have led to proof that fossil fuel burning increases the level of carbon dioxide, greenhouse gases that trap heat in the atmosphere, invariably leading to global warming.
This fact-check was produced by BONews Service with support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck, International Fact-Checking Network, and African Fact Checking Alliance network.