Historical data since 1880 shows that no correlation exists between air temperature anomalies and atmospheric CO2 concentrations. However, that strong pseudo-correlation from 1965 does exist implies that there could be a strong correlation between the warming and waste heat because the latter and CO2 are concurrent by-products of fossil fuel combustion. Global warming is a basic thermodynamic problem driven by huge amount of waste heat from human activities that is about 80% of globally consumed energy. This article presents a climate change thermodynamic model of a quaternary system consisting of air, land, oceans, and ices to investigate the warming phenomena through a thermodynamic approach. Unique, definitive relationships exist between warming or sea level rise and the amount of waste heat allocated to each of the components according to their respective specific heat capacities. Simulation results of past temperature changes in air, land, and seawaters as well as sea level rise are very well consistent with observed anomalies and sea level rise measurements. The results suggest that waste heat dominates global warming. This approach can also be used to forecast future warming. Additionally, the climate system experienced a transition from a cold to a warm era around 1980, before that time the system was “heat” hungry. Reducing thermal emissions, increasing energy conversion efficiency, and recovering and reusing waste heat are important measures to effectively mitigate climate change.
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