What does it mean to claim that "humans cause global warming"? A philosophical analysis of causal claims in the IPCC's arguments for anthropogenic global warming

The claim that "humans cause global warming" is analysed by means of the regularity conception of causality. A key element in applying the regularity conception is the definition of certain types of events. On this basis, many popular scientific objections against global warming can be refuted through formal reasons. This refutation reinforces the conclusions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) regarding the causal linkage between global warming and anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, Additionally, the analysis shows why an unchallengeable statement regarding the truth of a causal claim is not possible. in the case of global warming, a causal link can only be inferred with the help of climate models. Therefore, stating a certain degree of belief (i.e., subjective probability) is mandatory when attributing, global warming to specific causes. Hence, statements about subjective probabilities in the IPCC reports cannot be used as a reason not to act. Since a definite assessment of the global warming debate is not possible, the climate community must not close the debate as a result of its consensus.