For tens of thousands of years in the Holocene the earths atmosphere has been stable with a steady content of CO2. This common gas is incredibly important for life (plants) and as a thermo-regulator for our world. If the concentration of CO2 in our atmosphere rises, global temperature rises. If it falls far enough, the planet cools enough to bring about ice ages. These processes normally take millions of years.
In the Anthropocene we have inadvertently taken control over the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere.
How?
Once human beings moved from hunter gatherers1 to farming with settled populations and communities with dwellings, life became both easier and more complex at the same time. With agriculture came trade. With trade came economics. Agricultural development brought about massive land clearance, rain forest destruction, drainage and soil degradation, all of which drove up CO2 levels. They continue to do so.
Then came the industrial revolution, accelerating global warming and dramatically increasing the population. Agriculture had to embrace the industrial revolution in order to feed the growing population. That in turn has led to further massive deforestation. The vicious cycle continues to raise CO2 levels.
With development of civilisation, philosophy and the sciences come vested interests and manipulation of power and wealth making it harder to do something about the crisis.
That is it in a nutshell!
So what happens next?
We have to educate using fact and science.
1We were already damaging the planet causing extinctions of a range of large land mammals and birds.