Which human activities create greenhouse gases?

Burning fossil fuels and land use change are the two main causes of global increases in carbon dioxide, the principal greenhouse gas. Fossil fuels—such as coal, oil and natural gas—are hydrocarbons, and are burnt in order to generate electricity, provide heating and power transport. The most common example of land use change is the destruction of forests to make way for agriculture. Deforestation accounts for at least a fifth of daily carbon emissions, leaving CO₂ in the atmosphere which would otherwise be removed by trees for use in photosynthesis. Increases in methane, the other most significant greenhouse gas, are principally due to agriculture (especially rice cultivation and flatulence in livestock), leakage during fossil fuel production and the burning of biomass (plant matter).

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