Global warming is the phenomenon of an increase in the average temperature at the Earth's surface, due to the excessive presence of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. We also use the terms " climate change " or " climate disruption " to describe significant changes in terrestrial climatic phenomena, such as more frequent heatwaves, storms and hurricanes, and higher rainfall.

It's important to distinguish between global warming and weather: just because a winter is very cold in one place doesn't mean that global warming, which is observed over longer time scales and vast geographical areas, is not real.

The Earth constantly receives energy from the sun. Some of this energy is absorbed by the earth's surface, soil and oceans, which heat up. In return, the planet reflects some of this energy back in the form of infrared radiation, which is all the more intense the warmer the surfaces. In the atmosphere, naturally occurring gases such as ozone (O3), water vapour (H20), nitrous oxide (NO2), methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) reflect this infrared radiation back to Earth. And so on. This is what we call thegreenhouse effect, and it's what warms the Earth's temperature.

This is a natural phenomenon that enables the Earth to maintain a livable average temperature: without it, the average temperature at the Earth's surface would be at most 19°C instead of the 15°C we know today!

The planet has warmed by more than 1°C sincethe middle of the 19th century, the start of the industrial revolution. Man has altered the planet's climatic balance by massively producing greenhouse gases (GHGs). These are mainly CO2 (77% of emissions), released by the combustion of fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas. There's also the methane produced by our intensive agriculture and the creation of our landfills, and other specific gases such as refrigerant gases. What's more, human activities such as deforestation contribute to the reduction of what are known as "carbon sinks", i.e. what stores greenhouse gases and prevents them from reaching the atmosphere: oceans and forests. Not only do our activities emit too many GHGs, they also reduce the planet's capacity to absorb them.

Scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC) state with 95% certainty that human activities are responsible for the rise in temperatures observed since 1950. According to them, if we continue on our current trajectory, the average temperature will rise by between 2°C and 3.5°C by 2100.

While this may not seem dangerous at first glance, the balance of our planet is very subtle. Bear in mind that during the Ice Age, with only 4°C less on average at the Earth's surface, ice covered the whole of Northern Europe and sea levels were 100 meters lower!

Because of this subtle balance, climate change is having a major impact on the Earth. It is causing an increase in the number and intensity of extreme climatic events. These include heatwaves, storms, hurricanes, violent rains and floods, and forest fires. By causing sea-level rise, ocean acidification, changes in flowering dates, drought, the appearance of new diseases, rising water temperatures, pollination failures... global warming is endangering the quality of life of terrestrial species, including humankind.

Admittedly, the situation is alarming and we need to act. That's why the Paris Agreement committed countries to " containing the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and continuing efforts to limit the increase in temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, on the understanding that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change ".

The choices we make today are essential, and we need to start thinking now about strategies for a smooth transition to a low-carbon society.

In response to this objective, Keewe has launched the first banking services enabling companies to initiate their ecological transition by measuring, reducing and offsetting their greenhouse gas emissions.