Big numbers can drive change, so here’s a huge one: 800,000. That’s how many years it’s been since Earth’s atmosphere was as loaded with carbon dioxide as it is now. The steep rise in this heat-trapping gas underlines the need for a globally sustainable economy if we want to avoid the costliest impacts of climate change this century.
New policies and market trends show that a low-carbon transition, as envisioned in the 2015 Paris Agreement, is accelerating around the world – but not fast enough. National climate commitments made by countries under the Paris pact will only get us about a third of the way to the emissions reductions needed to keep the global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels. To get the rest of the way, accelerated short-term action and enhanced longer-term national ambition will be required, according to the UN’s 2017 Emissions Gap report.