The more greenhouse gas there is in the atmosphere, the stronger the greenhouse effect. By significantly increasing the amount of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, humans have caused the Earth to warm up.
This effect is sometimes known as 'global warming', but most scientists prefer the term 'climate change' because as average global temperature rises there will be knock-on effects on rainfall, winds, storms, the oceans and many other aspects of climate.
Who says the climate's changing?
In 2007 a panel of climate experts from over 100 countries delivered the most authoritative report yet on the science of climate change.
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Having assessed the best available information from around the world, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded with 'very high confidence' that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing the planet to warm up.
What's a few degrees?
Climate change isn't just about the weather. Unless we act soon, the world around us will change dramatically.
Because of greenhouse gases that have already built up in the atmosphere, some climate change is inevitable, and we'll have to adapt to cope with it.
How we choose to live our lives from now on will determine the level of climate change we can expect in the future, and how severe its effects on people and the environment will be.
Carbon Footprinting
The most important greenhouse gas, arising from human activity is carbon dioxide (CO2). Virtually all human activities cause the CO2 emissions that lead to climate change. The total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused directly and indirectly by an individual, organisation, event or product is commonly called their carbon footprint.
The full footprint of an organisation encompasses a wide range of emission sources from direct use of fuels to indirect impacts such as employee travel or emissions from other organisations up and down the supply chain.
In calculating our carbon footprint we have tried to quantify as full a range of emissions sources as possible in order to provide a complete picture of our impact.
Finally by establishing our carbon footprint for our activities, we have taken our first step in reducing the emissions that we cause.
The Climate Change Act (2008) requires WPD to report on its climate risks and adaptation plans. Click here to see WPD's report to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).