Query: In its 5th assessment report in 2013, the IPCC estimated that human emissions are probably responsible for more than half of the observed increase in global average temperature from 1951 to 2010.

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Sea level rise <=SEP=> A sea level rise is an increase in the volume of water in the world 's oceans , resulting in an increase in global mean sea level . Sea level rise is usually attributed to global climate change by thermal expansion of the water in the oceans and by melting of Ice sheets and glaciers on land . Melting of floating ice shelves or icebergs at sea raises sea levels only slightly .   Sea level rise at specific locations may be more or less than the global average . Local factors might include tectonic effects , subsidence of the land , tides , currents , storms , etc. .  Sea level rise is expected to continue for centuries . Because of the slow inertia , long response time for parts of the climate system , it has been estimated that we are already committed to a sea-level rise of approximately 2.3 m for each degree Celsius of temperature rise within the next 2,000 years . IPCC Summary for Policymakers , AR5 , 2014 , indicated that the global mean sea level rise will continue during the 21st century , very likely at a faster rate than observed from 1971 to 2010 . Projected rates and amounts vary . A January 2017 NOAA report suggests a range of GMSL rise of 0.3 -- 2.5 m possible during the 21st century .   Sea level rises can considerably influence human populations in coastal and island regions and natural environments like marine ecosystems .

IPCC Fifth Assessment Report <=SEP=> The Fifth Assessment Report ( AR5 ) of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) is the fifth in a series of such reports . The IPCC was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization ( WMO ) and the United Nations Environment Programme ( UNEP ) to assess scientific , technical and socio-economic information concerning climate change , its potential effects and options for adaptation and mitigation .   The Fifth Assessment Report was finalized in 2014 . As had been the case in the past , the outline of the AR5 was developed through a scoping process which involved climate change experts from all relevant disciplines and users of IPCC reports ; in particular representatives from governments . Governments and organizations involved in the Fourth Report were asked to submit comments and observations in writing with the submissions analysed by the panel . The report was delivered in stages , starting with Working Group I 's report on the physical science basis , based on 9,200 peer-reviewed studies . The summaries for policy makers were released on 27 September 2013 for the first report , on 31 March 2014 for the second report entitled `` Impacts , Adaptation , and Vulnerability '' , and on 14 April 2014 for the third report entitled `` Mitigation of Climate Change '' . The Synthesis Report was released on 2 November 2014 , in time to pave the way for negotiations on reducing carbon emissions at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris during late 2015 .

Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere <=SEP=> Carbon dioxide is an important trace gas in Earth 's atmosphere . Currently it constitutes about 0.041 % ( equal to 410 parts per million ; ppm ) by volume of the atmosphere . Despite its relatively small concentration is a potent greenhouse gas and plays a vital role in regulating Earth 's surface temperature through radiative forcing and the greenhouse effect . Reconstructions show that concentrations of in the atmosphere have varied , ranging from as high as 7,000 ppm during the Cambrian period about 500 million years ago to as low as 180 ppm during the Quaternary glaciation of the last two million years .   Carbon dioxide is an integral part of the carbon cycle , a biogeochemical cycle in which carbon is exchanged between the Earth 's oceans , soil , rocks and the biosphere . Plants and other photoautotrophs use solar energy to produce carbohydrate from atmospheric carbon dioxide and water by photosynthesis . Almost all other organisms depend on carbohydrate derived from photosynthesis as their primary source of energy and carbon compounds .   The current episode of global warming is attributed to increasing emissions of and other greenhouse gases into Earth 's atmosphere . The global annual mean concentration of in the atmosphere has increased by more than 40 % since the start of the Industrial Revolution , from 280 ppm , the level it had for the last 10,000 years leading up to the mid-18th century , to 399 ppm as of 2015 . The present concentration is the highest in at least the past 800,000 years and likely the highest in the past 20 million years . The increase has been caused by anthropogenic sources , particularly the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation . The daily average concentration of atmospheric CO2 at Mauna Loa Observatory first exceeded 400 ppm on 10 May 2013 . It is currently rising at a rate of approximately 2 ppm/year and accelerating . An estimated 30 -- 40 % of the released by humans into the atmosphere dissolves into oceans , rivers and lakes , which contributes to ocean acidification .

Global warming <=SEP=> Global warming , also referred to as climate change , is the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth 's climate system and its related effects . Multiple lines of scientific evidence show that the climate system is warming . Many of the observed changes since the 1950s are unprecedented in the instrumental temperature record which extends back to the mid 19th century , and in paleoclimate proxy records over thousands of years .   In 2013 , the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) Fifth Assessment Report concluded that `` It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century . '' The largest human influence has been emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide , methane and nitrous oxide . Climate model projections summarized in the report indicated that during the 21st century the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 0.3 to for their lowest emissions scenario and 2.6 to for the highest emissions scenario . These findings have been recognized by the national science academies of the major industrialized nations and are not disputed by any scientific body of national or international standing .   Future climate change and associated impacts will differ from region to region around the globe . Anticipated effects include warming global temperature , rising sea levels , changing precipitation , and expansion of deserts in the subtropics . Warming is expected to be greater over land than over the oceans and greatest in the Arctic , with the continuing retreat of glaciers , permafrost and sea ice . Other likely changes include more frequent extreme weather events including heat waves , droughts , heavy rainfall with floods and heavy snowfall ; ocean acidification ; and species extinctions due to shifting temperature regimes . Effects significant to humans include the threat to food security from decreasing crop yields and the abandonment of populated areas due to rising sea levels . Because the climate system has a large `` inertia '' and greenhouse gases will stay in the atmosphere for a long time , many of these effects will not only exist for decades or centuries , but will persist for tens of thousands of years .   Possible societal responses to global warming include mitigation by emissions reduction , adaptation to its effects , building systems resilient to its effects , and possible future climate engineering . Most countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) ,  whose ultimate objective is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate change . Parties to the UNFCCC have agreed that deep cuts in emissions are required and that global warming should be limited to well below 2.0 C-change relative to pre-industrial levels , with efforts made to limit warming to 1.5 C-change .   Public reactions to global warming and concern about its effects are also increasing . A global 2015 Pew Research Center report showed a median of 54 % consider it `` a very serious problem '' . There are significant regional differences , with Americans and Chinese ( whose economies are responsible for the greatest annual CO2 emissions ) among the least concerned .

Scientific consensus on climate change <=SEP=> There is currently a strong scientific consensus that the Earth is warming and that this warming is mainly caused by human activities. This consensus is supported by various studies of scientists' opinions and by position statements of scientific organizations, many of which explicitly agree with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) synthesis reports.  Nearly all actively publishing climate scientists (97–98%) support the consensus on anthropogenic climate change, and the remaining 2% of contrarian studies either cannot be replicated or contain errors.