The accumulation of CO₂ emission has largely contributed to global warming.
Greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, such as CO₂, prevent the heat from the earth to escape properly causing the warming of the earth, a process better known as the greenhouse effect. Global warming has several consequences: Heatwaves occur more often, rainfall is more intense, and the sea level is rising. Especially in vulnerable areas, such as sub-Saharan Africa, people are confronted with the consequences of climate change on a daily basis. Extreme heat causes drying of the land, resulting in crop failure. When rain arrives, it is often very intense. Because a lot of water is coming down at once, the water has no time to infiltrate into the soil, causing runoff of the water. Next to lower water availability within the soil, this causes erosion of the fertile top layer of the soil and downstream floodings. The lower water contents and decrease in fertile soil make it hard to grow crops, causing a food shortage and poverty for the local communities.