Аннотация:This study analyzes data from the literature and presents our original quantitative assessments of the anthropogenic contribution to global warming. The contribution of water vapor – the principle greenhouse gas – to warming is practically independent of human activity. The share of anthropogenic carbon dioxide and methane emissions in the overall greenhouse effect is estimated to be no more than 1–3%. Furthermore, global warming itself is the primary driver of the observed increase in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, including water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane. The main anthropogenic contribution to contemporary climate warming is thermal pollution, which occurs at virtually all stages of industrial and domestic human activity. However, for today, thermal pollution does not make a reliably detectable contribution to global warming, manifesting significantly only at the regional level. The global warming observed in recent decades primarily represents another peak in the cyclical dynamics of the Earth's climate system. Both positive and negative consequences of global warming are considered. It is noted that carbon-free energy cannot be an effective instrument of combating warming because, firstly, the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide is predominantly driven by warming itself, and secondly, warming stimulates photosynthesis, the principal biospheric process for creating organic matter. Keywords: anthropogenic factor, greenhouse effect, carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor in the atmosphere, specific energy consumption, bioproduction process, carbon-free energy, climatic optimum.
