The role of trace gases in the storage of heat in the atmosphere of the Earth and in the exchange of energy between the atmosphere and outer space is discussed. The molar heat capacities of the trace gases water vapor, carbon dioxide and methane are only slightly higher than those of nitrogen and oxygen. The contribution of trace gases carbon dioxide and methane to heat storage is negligible. Water vapor, with its higher concentration and conversion energies, contributes significantly to the heat storage in the atmosphere. Most of the heat in the Earth’s atmosphere is stored in nitrogen and oxygen, the main components of the atmosphere. The trace gases act as converters of infrared radiation into heat and vice versa. They are receivers and transmitters in the exchange of energy with outer space. The radiation towards space is favored compared to the reflection towards the surface of the Earth with increasing altitude by decreasing the density of the atmosphere and condensation of water vapor. Predictions of the development of the climate over a century by extrapolation are critically assessed.

Global warming is a thermodynamic problem. When excess heat is added to the climate system, the land warms more quickly than the oceans due to the land’s reduced heat capacity. The oceans have a greater heat capacity because of their higher specific heat and the heat mixing in the upper layer of the ocean. Thermodynamic Geoengineering (TG) is a global cooling method that, when deployed at scale, would generate 1.6 times the world’s current supply of primary energy and remove carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere. The cooling would mirror the ostensible 2008–2013 global warming hiatus. At scale, 31,000 1-gigawatt (GW) ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) plants are estimated to be able to: a) displace about 0.8 watts per square meter (W/m²) of average global surface heat from the surface of the ocean to deep water that could be recycled in 226-year cycles, b) produce 31 terawatts (TW) (relative to 2019 global use of 19.2 TW); c) absorb about 4.3 Gt CO₂ per year from the atmosphere by cooling the surface. The estimated cost of these plants is $2.1 trillion per year, or 30 years to ramp up to 31,000 plants, which are replaced as needed thereafter. For example, the cost of world oil consumption in 2019 was $2.3 trillion for 11.6 TW. The cost of the energy generated is estimated at $0.008/KWh.