CLAIM: A post appeared on Twitter with a claim that the climate is changing by itself, because of solar and lunar activity; and has nothing to do with carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions or fossil fuel burning.
The post maintained that there is no evidence of physics to prove climate change is caused by these two effects, noting that the United Nations (UN) and the World Economic Forum (WEF) only created a climate hoax in order to impose new taxes (carbon taxes) and to build tracking systems for businesses and people.
“Climate is changing by itself, because of solar & lunar activity. Not because of CO2 or fossil fuel (no evidences of physics) @UN & WEF have created climate hoax in order to impose new taxes (carbon taxes) & to build tracking system for businesses and people,” the tweet was simply put.
Climate is changing by itself, because of solar & lunar activity. Not because of CO2 or fossil fuel (no evidences of physics)@UN & WEF have created climate hoax in order to impose new taxes (carbon taxes) & to build tracking system for businesses and people. pic.twitter.com/pmqcHzJDeR
— Misia (@Misia90156519) January 8, 2023
This claim was shared alongside a video clip where Piers Corbyn, a British Astrophysicist and Founder of Weather Action said climate had been changing, but has nothing to do with man.
The claim, which was made on January 8 has gained many engagements on the world’s most popular microblogging site.
VERIFICATION: Climate, according to the National Geographic Society, means the long-term pattern of weather in a particular area.
This society, based in Washington DC, United States said, climate describes the average weather conditions of a particular place over a 30-year period.
All places on earth according to the international geographic organisation have their own climates, and some climates are small in scale, like the climate of a local region or the microclimates within an ecosystem, while some are much larger, such as the climates of entire continents, or the world’s oceans.
“Different from weather events, which are short-term and temporary phenomena, climates are usually steady and predictable and shape how organisms and human civilisations evolve and adapt in any given region.
“However, climates are not always permanent, and can change drastically due to human activity,” explained the geographic society.
Truly, the British Geological Survey admitted that Geological records show that there had been a number of large variations in the Earth’s climate, caused by many natural factors, including changes in the sun, emissions from volcanoes, variations in Earth’s orbit, but these changes have typically occurred very slowly, over thousands or millions of years.
Recent researches indicate, however, that the current climate is changing more rapidly than shown in geological records, the rapidity which the Carbon Brief observed, only began in the later part of the 19th century due to human activity, particularly when human society began to industrialise.
The studies, Carbon Brief said, suggest that the climate system responds to greenhouse gases quicker than thought, and the main greenhouse gases whose concentrations are rising according to the World Meteorological Organisation, are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and ozone in the lower atmosphere.
The Eurostat Statistics Explained maintained that carbon dioxide emissions are emissions stemming from the burning of fossil fuels and the manufacture of cement, which include carbon dioxide produced during consumption of solid, liquid, and gas fuels as well as gas flaring.
On its part, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) argued that If the greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are not reduced, the effect will continue to be a consistent rising in global temperature, the consequences, which include massive crop and fishery collapse, the disappearance of hundreds of thousands of species, and entire communities becoming uninhabitable.
“While these outcomes may still be avoidable, climate change is already causing suffering and death.
“From raging wildfires and supercharged storms, its compounding effects can be felt today, outside our own windows, said the NRDC.
Similarly, the UN submitted 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, the global organisation said they trap the sun’s heat, leading 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.
“This poses many risks to human beings and all other forms of life on Earth,” the UN concluded.
CONCLUSION: The claim that climate is changing by itself; hence the concept of climate change is a hoax, created to impose new taxes and build tracking systems for businesses and people is FALSE. Studies show there is continuous rising in global temperature, mainly caused by human activity due to greenhouse gas emissions, arising from carbon dioxide emissions and fossil fuels burning.
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.