Zach Pilchen has studied energy and environmental law at George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC, and at Lewis & Clark Law School. An environmental lawyer, Zach Pilchen contributes pieces to Lexology on a number of topics, including the impact of greenhouse gas emissions.
Greenhouse gases are gaseous elements or compounds that keep heat trapped within the earth’s atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is the most common greenhouse gas, making up 80 percent of all greenhouse gases, followed by methane, nitrous oxide, and various fluorinated gases like hydrofluorocarbons (HFC).
In some cases, greenhouse gases can remain in the atmosphere for hundreds of years, continuously trapping heat and raising planetary temperatures. While people can take several steps to mitigate their carbon footprints, such as using alternate forms of transportation or minimizing consumption of livestock, important changes must also be made at the national and international level to enact meaningful change.
China is presently the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, with over 10 billion tons of annual greenhouse gas emissions (carbon-dioxide equivalent).
China is followed by the United States (over 6 billion tons), European Union (over 4 billion tons), and India and Russia (over 2 billion tons each). Without changes by these and other nations, greenhouse emissions will continue to contribute to extreme weather patterns, respiratory disease, disruptions to important supply chains, and many other issues.
Zach Pilchen 