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Why does burning coal, oil, and natural gas increase global warming?

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Grinnell Glacier shrinkage — Global warming A series of photographs of the Grinnell Glacier taken from the summit of Mount Gould in Glacier National Park, Montana, in (from left) 1938, 1981, 1998, and 2006. In 1938 the Grinnell Glacier filled the entire area at the bottom of the image. By 2006 it had largely disappeared from this view.

Burning coal, oil, and natural gas increases global warming because these fossil fuels release large quantities of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the atmosphere when combusted.12

Carbon dioxide is a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect. While these gas molecules allow short-wavelength solar radiation to pass through the atmosphere and warm the Earth's surface, they absorb the long-wave infrared radiation that the surface emits back toward space. By absorbing this energy and re-emitting it in all directions—including back toward the surface—these gases trap heat in the lower atmosphere.314

Human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels since the Industrial Revolution, have significantly increased atmospheric CO₂ concentrations beyond natural levels. This amplified carbon load exceeds the capacity of natural carbon sinks to remove the gas, leading to a rise in the planet's mean surface temperature.421