First scientific warning on climate warming dates back to 1896

Already in 1896, a scientist warned about the possible consequences of carbon dioxide emissions, the Nobel committee tweeted.

In a paper published in the Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, Svante Arrhenius was the first to explain the contribution of carbon dioxide to the greenhouse effect.

He also speculated whether variations in the concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere would have influenced climate changes over the longer term.

Fossil fuels

Arrhenius (1859-1927) does not say so much in this publication that burning fossil fuels will cause global warming. But he was already aware in 1896 that such fuels are a potentially significant source of carbon dioxide.

The Swedish physicist and chemist received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1903 for his work on electrolytic dissociation theory.