2050Today
Climate Change is in your hands
By measuring your greenhouse gas emissions and by reducing them accordingly you can be the change you want to see as of today
2050Today is here to reverse the trend with your institution
Why it matters :
The planet has entered a state of emergency with unprecedented risk of damage to humanity and the environment. Global warming and the collapse of biodiversity are having fatal consequences on an exponential scale. Urgent action is needed at all levels – everywhere and now – to confront the threat.
United for zero emissions
Imagine a world where climate action for zero emissions is the natural course of action for everyone, entity or individual. 2050Today is about measuring our greenhouse gas emissions and reducing them accordingly to bring about the change we want today.
United by this vision, 60 institutions in international Geneva have decided to take action to confront the challenge of climate change by implementing 2050Today. Permanent Missions, international organisations and civil society entities have committed to measure and reduce their emissions while confirming their willingness to cooperate together for effective, inclusive and sustainable climate action.
Joining or supporting 2050Today means participating in a coalition of entities resolutely committed to reducing emissions and concerned about acting in accordance with a sustainable planet for future generations.
Climate news
Diverse forests hold huge carbon potential, as long as we cut emissions.
New study estimates that natural forest recovery could capture approximately 226 Gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon, but only if we also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Achieving these results requires community-driven efforts to conserve and restore biodiversity.
Source: Nature
November 13, 2023
Deforestation jeopardises agribusiness and food security in Brazil and worldwide
The current drought situation in the Amazon, which has taken on a new level of severity this year, is influenced by two exceptional climatic conditions: the abnormally high temperature of the North Atlantic waters and the presence of the El Niño phenomenon. Despite these remarkable climatic conditions, however, the human footprint of this environmental tragedy is also visible.
Source: The Conversation
November 22, 2023
Amazon region hit by trio of droughts in grim snapshot of the century to come
The Amazon is facing an unprecedented drought that is projected to continue affecting the region at least until mid-2024. The lowest water levels in 121 years of river-level records have been recorded in the city of Manaus. Vast areas of the Amazon River’s bed have been exposed, and more than 150 dolphins died in a lake where water temperatures reached 39°C (2°C above human body temperature). Human populations along Amazonian rivers have been isolated, stripped of their livelihoods and lack basic necessities.
Source: The Conversation
November 22, 2023
These 8 Countries Are Scaling Up Renewable Energy the Fastest
Renewable energy has grown exponentially over the past two decades thanks to government policy and falling prices, far faster than many experts expected. Today, building new solar and onshore wind power on average costs around 40% less than coal or gas power. These cost declines have helped renewables reach a tipping point, meaning that the transition away from fossil fuels appears difficult to reverse
Source: World Resources Institut
July 12, 2023
State of Climate Action 2023
The State of Climate Action 2023 provides the world’s most comprehensive roadmap of how to close the gap in climate action across sectors to limit global warming to 1.5°C. It finds that recent progress toward 1.5°C-aligned targets isn’t happening at the pace and scale necessary and highlights where action must urgently accelerate this decade to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, scale up carbon removal and increase climate finance.
Source: World Resources Institut
November 14, 2023
Benchmarks for Success for COP28
The COP28 summit is unique because it will feature the first-ever “Global Stocktake” of progress since the international Paris Agreement on climate change was adopted in 2015, creating a critical moment for stronger action. A Global Stocktake synthesis report published in September 2023 was a “truly damning report card” of current global efforts to confront climate change. But just as importantly, it offered a blueprint for how governments can and should move forward.
Source: World Resources Institut
November 9, 2023
Time to act
To keep global warming below 1.5°, we must at all costs avoid depleting our carbon budget. All organisations must therefore reduce their emissions as much as possible – and as soon as possible – in order to comply with the IPCC special report’s warning to limit global warming to 1.5°C. At current emissions levels, this budget will be exhausted within a few years and well before 2030. Every moment is counting and the countdown is not stopping. So the time to act is today.
Act now ! Amanda Gorman, American Youth Poet Laureate
That’s how fast the carbon clock is ticking
The MCC Carbon Clock shows how much CO2 can be released into the atmosphere to limit global warming to a maximum of 1.5°C and 2°C, respectively. Once the remaining time has elapsed these thresholds will be exceeded. With just a few clicks, you can compare the estimates for both temperature targets and see how much time is left in each scenario.
The individual contribution to the global carbon footprint
It’s a fact that the climate is warming because of human activity. Everything we consume, use and then throw away requires materials and energy. Whether it’s during the production, use or end-of-life phase of the good or service. In effect, all our activities contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Some enormously, others very little.
The world total carbon footprint in 2021 due to human emissions was around 37 gigatons of CO2 eq. These huge emissions are the accumulation of many and many … billions of big and small emissions that are the result of life styles and consumption.
To reach net zero emissions by 2050, the individual carbon footprint should not exceed 1 ton/ year of CO2 eq.
For the time being, the average individual footprint in Switzerland is 12 t CO2 eq /year and the world average is 5 t CO2 eq / year. It means, we should all divide our carbon footprint by an important factor.
Let’s start and take up the challenge today and measure our individual carbon footprint.
Do you know your carbon footprint ?
In 10 to 20 minutes, you can get an estimation of your carbon footprint by category.
The Geneva calibrated calculator allows to assess your individual carbon footprint per year in total and by major category (food, transport, housing, miscellaneous, societal services), to compare it with climate targets and, above all, to take action at your own level with personalized measures based on your answers.
The global human footprint
The carbon footprint is only one part of the impact of human beings on planet Earth. To get a glimpse of our global impact, take a look at the graphic below.
We should also keep in mind how quickly our impact has grown. The Earth, our only available habitat, appeared some 4.5 billion years ago. The ancestors of human beings first appeared less than 10 million years ago.
In other words, if you were to compress the entire history of the Earth into 24 hours, the first Homo sapiens would only arrive in the last few seconds and the advent of agriculture would only be a blink of an eye before midnight.
To have a closer look, follow Living in the Age of Humans, a series of stories that examine the impacts of human presence on Earth.
The human impact so far
Major environmental-change categories expressed as a percentage relative to intact baseline. Red indicates percentage of category damaged, lost or otherwise affected; blue indicates percentage intact, remaining or unaffected. Frontiers in Conservation Science
