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Climate Change Is Already Happening

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Global temperatures are rising at unprecedented levels. Since 1880, global temperatures have risen by more than 1˚C (1.8˚F), while levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have increased from 280 parts per million (ppm) to more than 400ppm. Atmospheric and oceanic temperatures have steadily climbed, and the impacts of this warming are clear. Glaciers are receding or disappearing and Arctic sea ice is declining. Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets are melting and sea levels are rising. Scientists have determined that it is extremely likely the increase in greenhouse gas emissions from human activity is the largest driver of this change.

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Rising Greenhouse Gas Emissions Are the Main Driver of Warming

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Greenhouse gas emissions and the greenhouse effect

When we burn fossil fuels or clear land, the carbon stored in oil, coal, natural gas, and vegetation is released into the atmosphere. This exacerbates the naturally occurring greenhouse effect, causing warming. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have increased rapidly since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Emissions are projected to increase as population and resource demand grows.

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Climate Change Impacts Are Already Unfolding and Will Be More Frequent and Severe

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Sea level is rising

People and the planet are already experiencing the effects of climate change. Melting ice and thermal expansion are increasing sea levels around the globe an average 3.2 mm per year, although these levels vary widely depending on local geologic processes. The increase in sea level is amplifying coastal flooding during storms. Studies estimate that by 2050, flood damages exacerbated by climate change will cost US$1 trillion per year and will displace hundreds of millions of people by 2100.

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Sea level is rising

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Oceans are changing

Oceans absorb both carbon dioxide and heat from the atmosphere. Warmer temperatures cause coral bleaching, which under constant stress causes death and deterioration of these coral systems. Coral reefs are valuable habitats for other species and provide nurseries to animals used in the fishing industry. Tourism alone is valued at US$36 billion per year. Carbon dioxide absorption in the oceans has increased ocean acidity by 30 percent over the past 200 years. This impedes the growth of shells on clam, oysters, and other shellfish, harming the fishing industry.

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Extreme weather events are increasing

In some areas, storms are becoming stronger and more frequent and precipitation patterns are changing. The number of high precipitation days are projected to increase in areas already vulnerable to natural disasters like flood and landslides, leading to loss of life and infrastructure. In other areas, climate models project longer and more intense heat waves and dry spells that will reduce soil moisture, increase vegetation stress, and increase the length of the fire season.

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Species are shifting

On average, species have shifted their extents to higher elevations at a median rate of 11.0 meters per decade, and to higher latitudes at a median rate of 16.9 kilometers per decade. Species that have reached the brink of their habitable zones are experiencing decline and even extinction.

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Human health could be affected

Increased extremely hot days may prove fatal to vulnerable populations, and harmful species like mosquitos that transmit diseases such as malaria, dengue, and zika are also changing their habitat ranges, with implications for human health. WHO estimates that heat exposure, malaria, food scarcity and lack of access to clean water and shelter due to climate change may result in up to 250,000 additional deaths per year.

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Countries, States, Cities and Individuals Are Taking Action

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Countries are joining the Paris Agreement

Climate action has become an increasing global priority. Many countries have signed and ratified the Paris Agreement, which aims to stabilize global temperature increase at less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and encourage efforts to hold temperature rise to 1.5°C. Although some prominent emitters remain reluctant to take action, innovative, ambitious countries have peaked their emissions and have proven that nations can reduce GHG emissions while increasing GDP. Climate action is also prioritized by the United Nations in its Sustainable Development Goal 13, “Take Climate Action”.

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Actions we take now will influence the future climate

Today’s decisions – and indecisions – will shape what the world will look like for decades, even centuries to come. Our ability to limit dangerous climate change and achieve development goals will be determined by whether we can fundamentally change the way we frame problems and make decisions, moving from a myopic and reactive approach to a far-sighted approach that is transformational and guided by a shared vision.

Accordingly, we need to adopt a forward looking mindset to steer decisions in a way that catalyzes a low-carbon future while also ensuring food, water and energy security in decades to come. Acting on the best available information and data, such a mindset will prioritize the decisions that allow for as many major shifts as soon as possible, create incentives to drive the needed innovation, and avoid short-sighted decisions. For example, the charts below from Climate Watch give a high-level overview of different global emission trajectories and the likely temperature increases associated with them. The tool itself has much more information on the sectoral and regional shifts in these scenarios and the assumptions that go into them. Meeting the Paris Agreement goals of limiting temperature rise to 2°C or even 1.5°C will require ambitious action.

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Private and local action is needed

Companies are also taking action to reduce their greenhouse gases, with over 370 setting science-based targets to reduce emissions, in line with the level of decarbonization required to keep global temperature increase below 2°C compared to pre-industrial temperatures. States and cities around the world are setting standards for impactful global climate action by developing carbon trading markets, setting renewable energy targets, buying green bonds, aiming to phase out coal and investing in clean technology infrastructure. Widespread local grassroots projects are also working to spur individual action, encouraging the limiting of fossil-fuel-based transportation, better insulation of homes, greater investment in renewable energy, and reduced consumption of meat. National, private-sector, and individual steps all can contribute to stabilizing the Earth’s climate.

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