Fact check: To what degree is climate change caused by man?

1. Summary of the results

The scientific evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that climate change is primarily caused by human activities. Multiple authoritative sources confirm this consensus:

• Over 99.9% of peer-reviewed scientific papers agree that humans are the main cause of climate change ^[1]
• The EPA confirms that human activities, particularly greenhouse gas emissions, are the dominant cause of recent climate change, with natural processes unable to explain the observed warming ^[2]
• 97% or more of climate scientists agree that human-caused climate change is real and ongoing ^[3]
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) provides evidence of rapid climate change including global temperature rise, melting ice sheets, and ocean acidification ^[4]
• Human activities have been the dominant cause of warming since the 1950s with greater than 95% likelihood ^[2]

The evidence shows that the current warming trend is too rapid to be linked to changes in Earth's orbit and too large to be caused by solar activity ^[3]. Natural causes are too small or slow to explain the rapid warming seen in recent decades ^[5].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question lacks important context about the specific mechanisms and timeframes involved:

• The analyses reveal that while climate has always varied naturally, human influence became dominant specifically since the 1950s ^[2]
• Specific human activities driving climate change include burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrial processes ^[5]
• The evidence includes measurable increases in CO2 concentration directly linked to human activities ^[6]
• Ocean acidification is occurring alongside temperature rise, providing additional evidence of human impact ^{[4] [3]}

The question also doesn't acknowledge the overwhelming scientific consensus - this isn't a matter of ongoing scientific debate but rather established scientific fact supported by multiple lines of evidence.

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The phrasing "To what degree is climate change caused by man?" could potentially create false uncertainty about a scientifically settled question. This framing might suggest there's significant debate among scientists when the evidence shows:

• 99.9% scientific consensus exists on human causation ^[1]
• The question implies climate change might be partially natural when sources clearly state that natural processes cannot explain observed warming ^[2]
• The use of "man" rather than "human activities" could minimize the industrial and systemic nature of the causes (fossil fuel burning, deforestation, industrial processes) ^[5]

Organizations or industries that benefit financially from continued fossil fuel use would benefit from perpetuating uncertainty about human causation, despite the overwhelming scientific evidence. The framing could inadvertently support narratives that delay climate action by suggesting the science remains unsettled when it is, in fact, conclusively established.