Why is coal combustion a major contributor to human-caused climate change?

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coal utilization Cross-regenerative coke oven. (A) Cross section, showing the alternating arrangement of flue walls and ovens; (B) longitudinal section, showing (left) a series of combustion flues in a single flue wall and (right) part of a long, slotlike oven.

Coal combustion is the single largest contributor to human-caused climate change because it releases vast quantities of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the atmosphere.1

As a potent greenhouse gas, CO₂ traps heat within the atmosphere. While it allows short-wavelength solar radiation to reach Earth’s surface, it absorbs the long-wave infrared radiation reradiated from the surface and reemits a portion of it downward. This process prevents heat from escaping into space, causing the lower atmosphere to warm—a phenomenon known as the greenhouse effect.1

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has provided substantial evidence that such human-driven increases in greenhouse gas concentrations have raised Earth's mean temperature since 1950. Consequently, most climate scientists advocate for an urgent global transition away from coal toward renewable energies, such as solar and wind power, to mitigate the severe risks posed by global warming.1