Climate change
Climate change is the greatest environmental challenge the world has ever faced, but we can do something about it.
We are the last generation that can stop devastating climate change. We have the knowledge and the tools – we just need politicians to lead the way.
Why we're tackling climate change
We know climate change is happening, and we know that it is caused by our actions.
The Earth's atmosphere is warming, faster than it probably ever has. In some cases weather patterns, climates and natural environments are changing quicker than wildlife or people can adapt.
So many of the world's biggest challenges, from poverty to wildlife extinction, are made more difficult by climate change. And things will get worse if we do nothing. But we can do something about it.
We have the knowledge and the technology to reduce our impact on the climate, and ease the pressures on the world's most vulnerable places, people and wildlife. We just need to make it happen.
Stephen Cornelius Chief adviser for climate change"As environmental problems go, few are as big and complex as climate change – it is a fascinating and important issue to work on. Climate change is one of the biggest threats faced by our natural world and also a tough social and economic issue. It is something we can’t leave to future generations to clean up. I work with a great team in the UK and internationally to press policy-makers to make bold decisions, such as the UNFCCC Paris Agreement in 2015, and to embed climate risk in our conservation efforts."
Climate change won’t just disappear
Global temperatures have been rising for over a century, speeding up in the last few years, and are now the highest on record. This causes negative impacts such as the melting of Arctic sea-ice, prolonged heat-waves and rising sea-levels.
We know why. We release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels for energy, farming, and destroying forests. These carbon emissions are causing the greenhouse effect, trapping heat and making the Earth warmer, faster than could happen naturally.
We know what needs to be done about it. We need to cut man-made greenhouse gas emissions drastically, phase out fossil fuels and move to renewable energy. We need to use less energy and be more efficient in the energy that we do use, and we need to tackle deforestation and eat less meat.
Places affected by climate change
From fragile mangrove swamps in India to the fast-decreasing icy wilderness of the Arctic to the vast oceans, the delicate balance of life in precious places all over the world is being put under stress.
Global climate deal
2016 was an incredible year for global climate action, with the Paris Agreement entering into full legal force. The Paris Agreement is a positive global climate agreement signed by 195 countries, including some of the world’s largest emitters such as China and the USA. Governments internationally are now committed to limiting their greenhouse gas emissions in order to keep global temperature increase well below 2C, with an aim of below 1.5C. This commitment is a fantastic stepping stone, but we now need to see individual countries creating ambitious plans in order to achieve this target.
