Climate change effects will become increasingly severe and difficult to reverse, with scientists warning that crossing the 1.5°C warming threshold (likely in the early 2030s) is now inevitable, leading to potentially irreversible "tipping points" like ice sheet collapse, but the severity of long-term impacts depends heavily on emissions reductions after 2030, as drastic cuts now can still minimize future changes. While some changes are already locked in, 2030 marks a critical juncture where faster, deeper emissions cuts are essential to avoid catastrophic, self-perpetuating shifts in the climate system.
Our latest analysis shows that emissions under current NDCs and long-term targets are projected to reach 53-57 GtCO2e in 2030 and 48-52 GtCO2e in 2035 – far above the levels consistent with a 1.5°C pathway, which would require emissions to fall to 27 GtCO2e by 2030 and 21 GtCO2e by 2035.
In fact, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) — the United Nations body established to assess the science related to climate change — modern humans have never before seen the observed changes in our global climate, and some of these changes are irreversible over the next hundreds to ...
In its 2022 report, the IPCC estimated that humanity could only emit 500 billion more tonnes of CO2 from the start of 2020 onwards for a 50% chance of keeping warming to 1.5C. As a result, the remaining carbon budget would be exhausted “in a little more than three years if global CO2 emissions remain at 2024 levels.”
No. Even if emissions of greenhouse gases were to suddenly stop, Earth's surface temperature would require thousands of years to cool and return to the level in the pre-industrial era.
Bill Gates calls for climate fight to shift focus from curbing emissions to reducing human suffering. NEW YORK (AP) — Bill Gates thinks climate change is a serious problem but it won't be the end of civilization.
The Science Is Clear
It will never be too late to take meaningful action to protect people and the planet. However, decades of increasing carbon emissions from oil, gas and coal are harming the natural and social systems upon which all humanity depends, threatening devastation.
This will destabilize the climate and lead to a surge in heatwaves, which are expected to affect nearly everyone on Earth – some 9.2 billion people – by 2050. Almost no corner of the planet will remain untouched by extreme heat.
New research shows that even if carbon dioxide removal can eventually reduce temperatures back to the crucial climate change limit, many of these changes will be locked in for the long term. Taking carbon dioxide out of the air won't be enough to stop the harm caused by rising temperatures.
The researchers' model suggests that a cooling rebound will eventually follow. However, this future cooling is likely to be less extreme because higher oxygen levels reduce the strength of the nutrient feedback in the oceans.
The world is already 1.1° C (1.9° F) hotter than it was between 1850 and 1900, the pre-industrial era. And while there's no question that limiting warming to 1.5° C will be difficult, there's also no question that we have the technology needed to do it—and that every tenth of a degree matters.
2019 warning on climate change and 2021 and 2022 updates
We declare clearly and unequivocally that planet Earth is facing a climate emergency. To secure a sustainable future, we must change how we live. [This] entails major transformations in the ways our global society functions and interacts with natural ecosystems.
Earth's climate and nature are already passing tipping points as global warming approaches 1.5°C. Since the first Global Tipping Points Report in 2023, understanding of tipping point risks has increased.
Yes, the summer of 2025 is widely forecast to be hotter than average across much of Australia, with high chances for above-average daytime and significantly warmer-than-average overnight temperatures, especially given influences like La Niña and long-term warming trends, though rainfall patterns will vary regionally. Expect potential heatwaves and higher bushfire risk in some areas, with specific conditions depending on the month and location within Australia.
Earth entering a 'danger zone'
Loss of ice that is still attached to the land causes sea levels to rise. “We are going to overshoot 1.5C of global warming probably around 2030 on current projections,” Lenton said.
Yes, it is possible to stop, and even reverse, global warming if we take serious action. While the change will not happen overnight, we can slow the rate of climate change and protect ourselves from even more damage.
Back in July 2017, prior to a conference held to mark his 75thbirthday, he warned: “We are close to the tipping point where global warming becomes irreversible” (Futurism). This means that now more than ever, is the time to take every action in mitigating against some of the worst impacts of climate change.
Our chief goal should be to prevent suffering, particularly for those in the toughest conditions who live in the world's poorest countries. Although climate change will hurt poor people more than anyone else, for the vast majority of them it will not be the only or even the biggest threat to their lives and welfare.
More than 90 percent of the warming that has happened on Earth over the past 50 years has occurred in the ocean.
China, India, and the United States will emerge as the world's three largest economies in 2050, with a total real U.S. dollar GDP of 70 percent more than the GDP of all the other G20 countries combined. In China and India alone, GDP is predicted to increase by nearly $60 trillion, the current size of the world economy.
The Northeast offers better prospects, particularly Vermont and New Hampshire, which rank as the two safest states from climate change. Vermont stands out as a haven – free from wildfires, extreme heat, and hurricanes.
8) New homes in 2050 will be highly energy-efficient – featuring several ways of capturing, storing, and distributing energy. 9) Due to climate change, homes will need to be more responsive to weather events. In addition, better cooling systems will ensure homes don't overheat in the potentially warmer summers.
We Are in a Climate Emergency
Leading climate scientists tell us we now have 4 years to move civilization off fossil fuels to avert climate catastrophe. The science is clear. We must act in time.
In an interview on CBC's The Early Edition, environmental activist David Suzuki explained comments he made during an iPolitics interview, where he declared "humanity has lost the fight against climate change." Suzuki said elevating economics and politics over science for decades has brought the world to a critical ...
The stories are irresistibly dramatic – life on Earth faces threats as varied as asteroid impacts, alien viruses, eruptions from the Sun and even the violent death of a massive star.