What Is CO2?
There is carbon in all of us. Often, atoms of carbon join up with other atoms to create something else. One atom of carbon, and two atoms of oxygen join up to create carbon dioxide, or CO2.
Over millions of years, animals and plants die and are compressed under the earth's crust and the sea bed. Over time, they are squashed down over such long periods, and under such pressure and heat, until they form fossil fuels, which are full of carbon.
Fossil fuels include coal, oil and gas. These are all underground or under the sea bed, and are extracted by drilling or mining.
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When these fuels are burned, whether in our boilers, open fires, in our cars, or in a power station to generate electricity, the carbon joins up with oxygen to create carbon dioxide. Therefore, when we burn fossil fuels, we release CO2 into the atmosphere.
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