In the year 2000, Paul Crutzen coined a new term. A new epoch had begun and one creature defined this new age, man. Man was seen as altering the planet on a geological scale. This age was termed the Anthropocene. Paul Crutzen believes that this age began with the First Industrial Revolution.
| 1769 | James Watt patents his steam engine.
Atmospheric levels of Carbon Dioxide are about 280 parts per million. |
| 1827 | Jean-Baptiste Fourier recognises that an atmospheric effect could be keeping the surface temperature of the Earth warmer than would be expected. He is the first to use the concept of what would be later be known as the greenhouse effect. |
| 1863 | Irish scientist John Tyndall publishes a paper describing how water vapour and carbon dioxide, dissolved in water, absorbs a great deal of heat energy. |
| 1890's | Svante Arrhenius considers the problems that might be caused by CO2building up in the atmosphere. He realises that
the burning of fossil fuels could lead to global warming.
Atmospheric levels of Carbon Dioxide are about 290 parts per million. |
| 1897 | P. C. Chamberlain produces a model for global carbon exchange. |
| 1870 - 1910 | Second Industrial Revolution. |
| 1890s to 1940 | Average surface air temperatures increase by about 0.25 °C. |
| 1928 | CFC's are invented. |
| 1938 | Guy Callender works out that as levels of Carbon Dioxide increases so to does global temperature. |
| 1940 to 1970 | Worldwide cooling of 0.2°C. |
| 1958 | David Keeling sets up first continuous monitoring of CO2 levels in the atmosphere at the Mauna Loa Observatory. |
| 1959 | Atmospheric levels of Carbon Dioxide are about 315 parts per million |
| 1960's | Carl Sagan determined that as a result of greenhouse gases the atmosphere of Venus is extremely hot. He feels that the Earth is facing the same danger as a result of global warming. |
| 1970 | Paul Crutzen warns that human activities may damage the Ozone Layer. |
| 1979 | First World Climate Conference adopts climate change as major issue and calls on governments "to foresee and prevent potential man-made changes in climate."
The National Academy of Sciences issues its first major report on global warming.
Atmospheric levels of Carbon Dioxide are about 337 parts per million. |
| 1985 | First major international conference on the greenhouse effect at Villach, Austria. |
| 1987 | The Montreal Protocol is adopted and the phaseout of CFC's to protect the Ozone Layer begins. CFC's are also a greenhouse gas. |
| 1988 | James Hansen, a NASA scientist, testifies about global warming before the US Congress.
The World Meteorological Organisation and the UN sets up the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to analyse and report on scientific findings in regard to anthropogenic climate change. |
| 1990 | The first report of the IPCC finds that the planet has warmed by 0.5°C in the past century. |
| 1992 | Over 160 countries sign The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Rio de Janeiro, committing them to the voluntary reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
The US Senate approves the Framework Convention by unanimous consent.
Atmospheric levels of Carbon Dioxide are about 356 parts per million. |
| 1994 | The Alliance of Small Island States adopt a demand for 20% cuts in emissions by the year 2005 in order, they believe, to limit sea level increases to 20 cm. |
| 1995 | The Larson A ice shelf in Antarctica collapses, losing about 1700 square kilometres in a week.
The Berlin Mandate is agreed by signatories at the first full meeting of the Climate Change Convention in Berlin. Industrialised nations agree on the need to negotiate real cuts in their emissions.
The IPCC issues its Second Assessment Report and states that current warming "is unlikely to be entirely natural in origin" and that "the balance of evidence suggests a discernible human influence on global climate". |
| 1997 | The Kyoto Protocol is drafted. Countries ratifying the protocol committed themselves to reducing their emissions of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases. The Protocol is not ratified by the US, Australia, China and India. Australia later ratifies the protocol in 2007. |
| 2000 | Atmospheric levels of Carbon Dioxide are about 369 parts per million. |
| 2001 | The IPCC issues its Third Assessment Report "Most of the warming observed over the last fifty years is attributable to human activities."
The National Research Council in a report requested by President Bush states that,
"Greenhouse gases are accumulating in the Earth's atmosphere as a result of human activities, causing surface air temperatures and subsurface ocean temperatures to rise. Temperatures are, in fact, rising."
The United States withdraws from the Kyoto Protocol. |
| 2002 | The Larson B ice shelf in Antarctica collapses losing about 3250 square kilometres.
Parliaments in the European Union, Japan and others ratify Kyoto. |
| 2003 | Atmospheric levels of Carbon Dioxide are about 375 parts per million.
Europe experiences its hottest summer for at least 500 years and there are about 35,000 fatalities as a result. The heat wave is seen by some as the first extreme weather event almost certainly attributable to man-made climate change. |
| 2004 | Russia ratifies the Kyoto Protocol in exchange for EU support of Russia's membership of the World Trade Organization. |
| 2005 | The melting of the Greenland ice sheet reaches a record maximum.
The National Academies of Sciences of the eight major industrialised nations issue a joint statement,
"The scientific understanding of climate change is now sufficiently clear to justify nations taking prompt action."
The Kyoto Protocol comes into force. |
| 2007 | The IPCC releases its Fourth Assessment Report.
The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to the IPCC and Al Gore for work on climate change.
The UN Climate Change Conference is held in Bali to reach international agreement on steps to be taken in response to the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report. The conference extends commitments to greenhouse gas reductions as part of the Kyoto Protocol.
The record for the lowest amount of Arctic sea ice ever is broken. Some researchers suggest that the Arctic could be ice free by 2030. |
| 2008 | Atmospheric levels of Carbon Dioxide are about 387 parts per million. This is the highest level for 650,000 years. |
