The paradigmatic challenges of our time include the presence of greenhouse gases in the atmos- phere, their influence on the Earth’s climate, global warming, and the green transition. The assessment of these issues and their relative importance divides the scientific community. Some researchers deny the existence of a significant greenhouse effect and its influence on weather and climate, while others, in our view, tend to overemphasize it. In this paper, a Simple Model (SM) is presented to address this question. The use of General Circulation Models (GCMs) is considered unnecessary, as their complexity introduces substantial uncertainty in describing the role of greenhouse gases. It is difficult to understand why, despite the well-established principles of thermodynamics, energy transfer, and fluid mechanics, a definitive resolution of this issue has not yet been achieved, and no clear position has emerged regarding the role of CO₂. The approach relies exclusively on fundamental equations that are part of standard university curricula. Only wellknown and verified relationships are used. These are further developed through mathematical analysis, and the resulting conclusions provide a clear interpretation of the magnitude of climate change, the need to reassess the green transition, and the justification for maintaining both nuclear and hydrocarbon-based energy systems.
