The physics of carbon dioxide (CO₂) as a greenhouse gas is over 200 years old, and the evidence has only strengthened with time.
Key milestones in CO₂ climate science:
1824 – Joseph Fourier
Proposed that Earth’s atmosphere acts like an insulating blanket, keeping the planet warmer than it would otherwise be.
1856 – Eunice Foote
Published the first experimental evidence that increased CO₂ could warm the atmosphere.
Correctly suggested that a CO₂-rich atmosphere would be warmer.
1859 – John Tyndall
Demonstrated that CO₂ and water vapour absorb infrared radiation.
Identified them as key greenhouse gases.
1896 – Svante Arrhenius
Calculated that doubling atmospheric CO₂ would raise global temperatures by several degrees.
Produced the first estimate of climate sensitivity.
1938 – Guy Callendar
Showed that atmospheric CO₂ was increasing due to fossil fuel combustion.
Linked rising CO₂ concentrations to observed warming.
1958 – Charles David Keeling
Began precise atmospheric CO₂ measurements at Mauna Loa.
Created the Keeling Curve, which documents the continuing rise in atmospheric CO₂.
1960s–Today
Laboratory spectroscopy, satellites, surface observations, climate models, and multiple independent lines of evidence have repeatedly confirmed that CO₂ traps heat and is the primary driver of modern global warming.
Summary:
CO₂’s greenhouse effect is not a new theory. The basic physics has been understood since the 19th century and has been confirmed countless times using modern instruments and observations.
The scientific debate today is not whether CO₂ absorbs infrared radiation. That was settled long ago. The questions concern the speed, magnitude, impacts, and solutions to climate change.