Global warming timeline with emphasis on Australia (thanks mostly to Wikipedia & Robert White)

• 1824 - Joseph Fourier describes the greenhouse effect
• 1856 - Eunice Foote publishes a paper "On the Heat in the Sun's Rays" describing the greenhouse effect with various gases
  
• 1859 - John Tyndall demonstrates the effect through experiments with different gases - duplicating Eunice Foote's work (without acknowledgment)
  
• 1896 - Svante Arrhenius predicts 7 to 11C global warming due to a hypothetical doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide
• 1901 -  Nils Gustaf Ekholm uses the term "greenhouse effect"
• 1956 - First attempt to use computer modelling for the global climate by John van Neumann
  
• 1957 - the first International Geophysical Year. Mauna Loa Climate Observatory begins monitoring global climate.
  
• 1962 - Mariner 2 spacecraft takes measurements of Venus that indicate very high surface temperatures
• 1963 - NOAA established and develops climate models
• 1967 - Thermal Equilibrium of the Atmosphere with a Given Distribution of Relative Humidity - paper by Manbe & Wethrald "According to our estimate, a doubling of the CO2 content in the atmosphere has the effect of raising the temperature of the atmosphere (whose relative humidity is fixed) by about 2C". Voted the most influential climate science paper of all time.
  
• 1967 - A paper by James Pollack and Carl Sagan analyses the Mariner 2 data and concludes there are high pressures and temperature at the surface of Venus - later attributed to the greenhouse effect
  
• 1965 -  President Lyndon Johnson’s Science Advisory Committee reported rising CO2 in the atmosphere, for which “at least during the recent past, fossil fuel combustion has been the only significant source”. The committee’s environmental pollution panel warned that by 2000 this increase “may be sufficient to produce measurable and perhaps marked changes in climate” that “could be deleterious from the point of view of human beings” (New Scientist).
• 1969 - A paper by Andrew Ingersoll explains the "runaway greenhouse effect" on Venus
• 1969 - Prof Harry Bloom's address to an Australian Senate enquiry - “If carbon dioxide built up to such an extent in the Earth’s atmosphere as to trap radiation from the sun and cause climatic conditions to change all over the world, perhaps heating the whole world and melting the ice caps, nothing could be done about it at that stage,” ... “At this stage, when we recognise the problem exists we ought to do something about it before it becomes too late.” (credit Royce Kurmelovs, The Guardian)
  
• 1970 - Dr Richard Gunn's [Australian] parliamentary address - “It is the rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide which may be the most sinister of all effects.
  The only way that this can be controlled is by reducing the amount of combustion taking place.” (credit Royce Kurmelovs, The Guardian)
• 1975 - Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Lab predicts that a doubling of CO2 would produce an average global temperature increase of 3C
• 1979 - A small group of atmospheric and ocean scientists, led by Jule Charney, met in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, to project the future impacts on Earth's climate from atmospheric release of carbon dioxide (CO2) from fossil fuel combustion.
  
• 1979 - Based on advice from the Woods Hole group, Frank Press, Science Advisor to Jimmy Carter, reports on a study warning of risks. The first World Climate Conference was held in this year and recognised the global significant of the issue.
• 1979 - New Scientist magazine warns of the risk of global warming.
  
• ~1980 - James Hansen begins climate research at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies
• 1980 - the book Cosmos, by Carl Sagan has a section on global warming
  
• 1985 - the international Advisory Group on Greenhouse Gases is formed (predecessor to IPCC)
• 1985 - Carl Sagan warning Congress about climate change (video)
  
• 1987 - The Montreal Protocol bans the production of CFCs, halons and other ozone-depleting chemicals. Success of a global agreement to take environmental action - in part, attributed by Carl Sagan to the chemistry knowledge of Margaret Thatcher
• 1988 - IPCC is formed
• 1989 - White House Chief of Staff John Sununu uses "uncertainty:" with climate modelling to stall political action.
  
• 1990 - Scientific American July 1990 "The Great Climate Debate" by Robert White (tends to support the "do nothing" approach but a good summary of research up to that time)
  
• 1992 - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• 1997 - Kyoto Proctocol adopted (despite Australian Prime Minister John Howards efforts to undermine the agreement.)
• 1998 - the book Billions & Billions by Carl Sagan has a chapter on global warming
  
• 2000 - Australian Federal Environment Minister Robert Hill admitted that Australia had helped the United States argue for a sticking point which helped collapse the world climate change talks in The Hague. In the same year a Senate committee issues a report which states that Australia has the highest greenhouse emissions per capita in the world.
  
• 2005 - Kyoto Protocol comes into force
• 2007 - Kevin Rudd is elected as Prime Minster of Australia - although not prominently reported in the papers, one of Mr Rudd's first commitments in his victory speech was to sign the Kyoto Protocol
• 2010 - Julia Gillard elected as Prime Minister of Australia with a minority government. With the support of The Greens she introduces a "Carbon Tax" that receives international praise
  
• 2013 - Tony Abbott is elected as Prime Minister of Australia on the mantra that the carbon tax will be abolished
  
• 2014 - Tony Abbott seeks alliance to thwart President Obama on climate change policy
  
• 2015 - Paris Agreement adopted - Australia was a party to the agreement despite Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott being opposed to action on global warming
• 2016 - Global sea-level expert John Church made to walk the plank by CSIRO
• 2017 - Southern Company in the USA abandons its attempt to make "clean coal", switching the Kemper County clean coal plant to natural gas after spending $7.5 billion.
• 2018 - Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull dumped by right-wing opponents of emission reduction targets (climate action was a key issue in the resulting by-election that saw a 20% swing against the government)
• 2018 - Renewables overtaking fossil fuels in new power generation: International Energy Agency - New wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) generation accounted for nearly half of all the additional electricity capacity in 2017...
• 2018 - Greta Thunberg commences "school strikes for the climate"
  
• 7 Feb 19 ABC: UN warns world on track to breach 3C rise by 2100; last year was fourth warmest on record.
• 13 May 19: BBC Doco on Youtube: Climate Change - the Facts - with David Attenborough, Michael Mann, James Hansen and many other respected scientists "This is a must watch for everyone who cares about our planet"
• 20 May 19 ABC: Federal Election 2019: What happened to the climate change vote we heard about? [Fear & greed!]
• 28 Sep 19 The Conversation: Highly touted UN climate summit failed to deliver - and Scott Morrison failed to show up + Greta Thunberg: You have stolen my childhood with your empty words
• 20 Feb 20 ‘Cosmos: Possible Worlds’ makers accuse PM Scott Morrison of being ‘woefully dishonest’ on climate change
• 18 Jan 21 The Conversation: Biden’s Senate majority doesn’t just super-charge US climate action, it blazes a trail for Australia.
  
• 11 Feb 21 Amazon: The New Climate War: the fight to take back our planet - new book by Michael Mann
  
• 20 May 22 The Guardian: Australia’s greenhouse pollution from coal higher per person than any other developed country, data shows.
• 27 Sep 22 The Conversation: How to deal with fossil fuel lobbying and its growing influence in Australian politics.
• Feb 2024 ABC: Veteran economists say a carbon levy would cut emissions, cut inflation and raise billions, but see little prospect of adoption + The Conversation: Ross Garnaut and Rod Sims have proposed a $100 billion-a-year fossil fuel tax – and it’s a debate Australia should embrace. + National Press Club address + ABC: Andrew Forrest slams fossil fuel industry and Coalition for nuclear energy 'bulldust' + Watch the entire National Press Club address on iView (registration required, Australian IP addresses only)
• More to come!
  

Compiled by Michael Paine. See Greenhouse gases and global warming