According to the charity Size Of Wales, an area six times the size of Wales of tropical forest is destroyed each year. 

The earth is surrounded by gases - that’s what makes up the atmosphere we breathe in. It’s made of a mix of gases, including oxygen, which sustains us, and nitrogen which is essential for plant growth. In addition to these there are gases known as greenhouse gases, which include carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapour and a few others.

Greenhouse gases affect the earth’s atmosphere like a warm blanket - higher concentrations warm the earth’s temperature by retaining more of the sun’s energy and releasing it back into the atmosphere. Usually, much of the sun’s radiation is reflected back into space, but greenhouse gases intercept this light on the way out, retaining the heat into the earth’s atmosphere.  It works the same way a greenhouse keeps your plants warm during the winter. In this way, the greenhouse effect has supported life on earth for millions of years, providing much needed warmth for life to grow and thrive. However today, the greenhouse effect is spiralling out of control.

So - the more greenhouse gases we emit into the atmosphere, the warmer things will get on average, and the more the climate will begin to change. How fast are we expecting things to change, and what can we do about it? 

As well as ice cores, we can use other evidence to observe changes in the earth’s climate - tree rings, ocean sediments, coral reefs, and sedimentary rocks also contribute to a natural record of the earth’s climate. All of them point to a rapid warming trend. 

It may feel that climate change is a challenge of epic proportions that we have no hope of overcoming, however as a global community we have come together in the past to address global threats: you may recall the hole in the ozone layer that was caused by refrigerants commonly used in fridges, air conditioners, and freezers, which were leaking into the atmosphere and destroying the protective ozone layer in the atmosphere, causing rising rates of skin cancer and widespread concern. Regulation was passed in Montreal in 1987 to phase out the use of these chemicals, and develop alternatives. The Montreal Protocol, as it’s known, is considered one of the most successful environmental treaties in history and a template from which present day climate policy should be inspired.