Climate change:
11 facts you need to know

We’re already seeing the effects of human-caused climate change — but nature can help.

We’re already seeing the effects of climate change, but thankfully, we’re equipped with the most effective tool to mitigate and adapt to it: nature. Protecting nature today means a better planet for future generations. Share these facts about climate change and help make a difference:​

1. © Gong​ Hangxu

   408 part​s per million.
   The concentration of carbon dioxide (CO_{2)​​​​​​​} in our atmosphere, as of 2018, is the highest it has been in 3 million years.

   
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2. © Elfstrom

   2016 ​was the warmest year on record.
   NASA and NOAA data show that global averages in 2016 were 1.78 degrees F (0.99 degrees C) warmer than the mid-20th century average. Seventeen of the 18 warmest years have occurred since 2000.

   
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3. © shaunl

   11% of emissions.
   Eleven percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans are caused by deforestation — comparable to the emissions from all of the cars and trucks on the planet.

   
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4. © Johnny Lye

   The Amazon is a carbon-storing powerhouse.
   In the Amazon, 1% of tree species sequester 50% of the region’s carbon.

   
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5. © Fred Froese

   800 million people.
   Eleven percent of the world’s population is currently vulnerable to climate change impacts such as droughts, floods, heat waves, extreme weather events and sea-level rise.

   
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1. © Lucas Bustamante

   Coastal ‘blue carbon’ ecosystems are critical.
   Just 0.7% of the world’s forests are coastal mangroves, y​​​​​​et they store up to 10 times as much carbon per hectare as tropical forests.

   
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2. © Arun Roisri

   Nearly 1 million hectares lost.
   An area of coastal ecosystems larger than New York City is destroyed every year, removing an important buffer from extreme weather for coastal communities and releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

   
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3. © Mayumi Terao

   Save nature. It’s cheaper.
   Conserving ecosystems is ​often more cost-effective than human-made interventions. In the Maldives, building a sea wall for coastal protection cost about US$ 2.2 billion. Even after 10 years of maintenance costs, it is still four times cheaper to preserve the natural reef.

   
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4. © CI/Emmeline Johansen

   Nature is an untapped solution.
   Tropical forests are incredibly effective at storing carbon — providing at least 30% of action needed to prevent the worst climate change scenarios. Yet nature-based solutions only receive only 2% of all climate funding.

   
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5. © Damien Roué/Flickr Creative Commons

   ​195 nations on board.
   195 countries signed the 2015 Paris Agreement, agreeing to limit global warming and adapt to climate change, partly by protecting nature.

   
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6. © NASA

   Price tag: US$ 140​ billion per year.
   This is what it would take to make the changes humanity needs to adapt to a warming world. It may sound like a lot, but it’s less than 0.1% of global GDP.​​​

   
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BONUS FACT

7. © CI/Peter Stonier

   Fight climate change, naturally.
   Natural climate solutions like ending deforestation and restoring degraded forests could, at the global level, create 80 million jobs, bring 1 billion people out of poverty and add US$ 2.3 trillion in productive growth.

   
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