The burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas releases a number of gases. We burn fossil fuels when we drive our cars, use coal-fired electricity, fly in planes or consume products. Some of the gases released from burning fossil fuels are greenhouse gases, which act like a blanket around the earth, trapping heat and warming the earth's atmosphere. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most common out of several greenhouse gases. Industrialised countries have released huge amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels, and have caused a human induced change in the earth's climate.