Another way to refer to climate forcings is to call them climate drivers. Natural climate drivers include changes in the sun's energy output, regular changes in Earth's orbital cycle, and large volcanic eruptions that put light-reflecting particles into the upper atmosphere.

What are the main drivers of climate?

Greenhouse gases

The main driver of climate change is the greenhouse effect. Some gases in the Earth's atmosphere act a bit like the glass in a greenhouse, trapping the sun's heat and stopping it from leaking back into space and causing global warming.

What drives the climate system?

The climate system is powered by radiation from the sun, of which approximately 49% is absorbed by the Earth's surface, and 20% is absorbed by the atmosphere (Kiehl & Trenberth 1997). This energy warms the planet, but the warming also causes Earth to start radiating energy back into space.