I just watched a video by Richard Alley (Ally?) about co2 and it answered this question.Carbon Dioxide does not lead temperature change but exacerbates it. History shows that when it gets hotter, more carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere through rock weathering; a process by which rocks break down, that speeds up during warm periods and slows during cold. The eventual change in atmospheric carbon dioxide will then either lead to the trapping of more heat and then higher temperatures or more escaped heat, resulting in lower temperatures.

However it takes,I believe, half a million years for the level of carbon change from rock weathering to have a significant effect on the global temperature. The issue today is the amount of carbon dioxide humans are putting into the atmosphere, which can only result in warming however slight. A little increase in temperature will cause more rock weathering, meanwhile humans increase the problem. My understanding is that while global temperature changes are natural, if the level of greenhouse gases are drastically changed the effect can eventually be dramatic.

In conclusion, Carbon dioxide doesn't lead the problem, specifically of global temperature change, but its increase speeds the process up and will probably eventually take it to unprecedented levels.