Question: How will different types of energy affect climate change?

Karl Byrne answered on 24 Jan 2017:

It’s more about the source of the energy than the energy itself. Fossil fuels, like oil and coal and gas are made up of plants and animals that died millions of years ago. While they were alive, they took carbon dioxide that was in the area and it became part of them (this is what trees and plants do today). When we burn the fossil fuel, the carbon dioxide gets released back into the atmosphere. This increases the level of CO2 in the area.
CO2 has the property of trapping heat, just like a greenhouse. At the right level, this is good for us- If there was no greenhouse effect, the earth would be frozen, however, too much and the earth will get hotter and hotter. A runway greenhouse effect is not a good thing- Venus has a thick, CO2 rich atmosphere (and also sulfuric acid, not a fun holiday destination…) and the surface temperature of venus is hot enough to melt lead.

On earth the CO2 levels are no where near those on venus, but they are rapidly rising through the burning on fossil fuels. This rise means that more heat gets trapped in the atmosphere. This rise in temperature then causes a wide range of climate changes. That’s one of the reasons why finding alternatives to fossil fuels is so important.