Climate forcings are factors that drive the climate system. There are many forcings and each has a different impact on the climate. The most significant forces over the last millennium were the sun and volcanic activity. Recently CO2 concentration has become a significant force as well. Intensity of the force is typically measured in Watts per square meter. Forces can also be classified as positive or negative forces. Positive forces have a warming effect while negative forces cool.
Another important concept is the earth's albedo. This is the reflection coefficient of the earth's surface. It is a ratio of the reflected radiation to the radiation incident on the surface. The larger this number the more radiation that is being absorbed thus heating up the earth's surface.
Sources:
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/globalwarming/gw-forcing.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albedo
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