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Climate change facts

What do you need to know about climate change?

We’re already seeing the effects of human-caused climate change — but nature can help. Protecting nature today ensures a more sustainable future.

 

SHARE THESE FACTS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE:​

 

421 parts per million

The concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in our atmosphere, as of May 20221, is the highest it has been in human history. Tweet this fact

 

2022 was a scorcher

Analysis by NOAA shows that average global temperatures in 2022 were 1.55 degrees F (0.86 degrees C) warmer than the 20th-century average — making it the sixth-hottest year on record.2 In fact, the 10 warmest years in the 1880-2022 record have all occurred since 2010. Tweet this fact

 

20% of emissions

As much as 20 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans are due to deforestation3 — exceeding the emissions from all of the passenger vehicles on the planet.4 Tweet this fact

 

Nature is an untapped solution

Tropical forests are incredibly effective at storing carbon, providing at least a third of the mitigation action needed5 to prevent the worst climate change scenarios. Yet nature-based solutions receive only 3 percent of all climate funding.6 Tweet this fact

 

Fight climate change, improve livelihoods — naturally

Scaling up natural climate solutions, such as restoring degraded forests, could create as many as 20 million new jobs.7 In total, ecosystem restoration creates 3.7 times as many jobs as oil and gas production per dollar.8 Tweet this fact

A disturbing trend

According to NOAA, global temperatures in July 2021 were higher than any other July on record (July is typically the warmest month of each year) — beating previous high-water marks set in 2016, 2019 and 2020. And July 2022 wasn't far behind, ranking as the sixth-hottest July ever recorded. Tweet this fact

3.6 billion people

As many as 3.6 billion people live in areas of high vulnerability to climate change impacts11 such as droughts, floods, heat waves, extreme weather events and sea-level rise. Tweet this fact

 

Coastal ecosystems are critical

In a single square mile, mangroves hold as much carbon as the annual emissions of 90,000 cars. If they are destroyed, all that carbon is released into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change.12 Tweet this fact

 

It’s cheaper to protect nature

Conserving ecosystems is often more cost-effective than human-made interventions. Mangrove trees, which thrive in salty, coastal areas around the world, provide flood protection benefits exceeding US$ 65 billion per year.13 Tweet this fact

 

Nations are uniting

One hundred ninety-three countries and the European Union have ratified the 2015 Paris Agreement14, agreeing to limit global warming and adapt to climate change, partly by protecting nature. Tweet this fact

 

Fight Climate Change

Join the thousands who have stepped up to protect nature like mangroves, which trap carbon and safeguard coastal communities against sea-level rise and storms.

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More Of Our Work

Night falls over Rio de Janeiro
© Nikada

What’s your footprint?
Japanese Cedar(Cryotomeria japonica) of Anzihe Protected Area

Facts About Forest Conservation
Clouds rise through Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
© Benjamin Drummond

Facts About Deforestation

 

References

  1. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2022, June). Carbon dioxide now more than 50% higher than pre-industrial levels. U.S. Department of Commerce. https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/carbon-dioxide-now-more-than-50-higher-than-pre-industrial-levels
  2. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2023, January). 2022 was world’s 6th-warmest year on record. U.S. Department of Commerce. https://www.noaa.gov/news/2022-was-worlds-6th-warmest-year-on-record
  3. Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. (2023, February). What is the role of deforestation in climate change and how can 'Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation' (REDD+) help?. The London School of Economics and Political Science. https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/explainers/whats-redd-and-will-it-help-tackle-climate-change/
  4. DeCicco, J., Fung, F., An, F. (2006). Global Warming on the Road: The climate impact of America’s automobiles. Environmental Defense. https://www.edf.org/sites/default/files/5301_Globalwarmingontheroad_0.pdf
  5. Correction to Supporting Information for Griscom et al., Natural climate solutions. (2019). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(7), 2776–2776. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1900868116
  6. Buchner, B., Clark, A., Falconer, A., Macquarie, R., Meattle, C., Wetherbee, C. (2019). Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2019. Climate Policy Initiative. https://climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/global-landscape-of-climate-finance-2019/
  7. United Nations Environment Programme. (2022, December 8). Nature-based Solutions can generate 20 million new jobs, but “just transition” policies needed [Press release]. https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/nature-based-solutions-can-generate-20-million-new-jobs-just

 

  1. Jaeger, J. (2021, October 18). Climate-friendly Investments Can Create More Jobs Per Dollar than Polluting Alternatives. World Resources Institute. https://www.wri.org/insights/green-investments-create-more-jobs-polluting-alternatives #:~:text=Ecosystem%20restoration%20creates%203.7%20times,as%20fossil%20fuels%20per%20dollar
  2. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2021, August). It’s official: July was Earth’s hottest month on record. U.S. Department of Commerce. https://www.noaa.gov/news/its-official-july-2021-was-earths-hottest-month-on-record
  3. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2022, August). Earth had its 6th-hottest July and year to date on record. U.S. Department of Commerce. https://www.noaa.gov/news/earth-had-its-6th-hottest-july-and-year-to-date-on-record
  4. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2022). Key Findings of the AR6 Report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability [Report]. https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2022/06/WGII_AR6_Presentation_SB56.pdf
  5. Conservation International. Protect Our Oceans. https://www.conservation.org/act/protect-our-oceans Accessed: 2023-03-10
  6. Menéndez, P., Losada, I.J., Torres-Ortega, S. et al. The Global Flood Protection Benefits of Mangroves. Sci Rep 10, 4404 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-61136-6
  7. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Paris Agreement - Status of Ratification. https://unfccc.int/process/the-paris-agreement/status-of-ratification. Accessed: 2020-06-09.