A century ago, our planet was a much cooler place – around one degree Celsius cooler, to be exact. However, since the start of the Industrial Revolution in the late-18th century, Earth has been getting much hotter. The invention of fossil fuel-guzzling machines, such as internal combustion engines and steam trains, has propelled the planet into a new technological era, but has also set it on a trajectory of self-destruction. As a byproduct of early industrialisation, the atmosphere has been saturated by a global outpouring of toxic pollutants called greenhouse gases.
One of the most damaging greenhouse gases is carbon dioxide, which acts like an atmospheric blanket, wrapping Earth in its cosy embrace. In 2023, the global output for carbon dioxide was 37.4 gigatonnes, growing 1.1 per cent from the…
