By measuring your greenhouse gas emissions and by reducing them accordingly you can be the change you want to see happen as of today
The planet has entered a state of emergency with unprecedented risk of damage to humanity and the environment. Six of the nine planetary boundaries – within which humanity can continue to develop and thrive for generations to come – have been exceeded. Two of them, 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.
To achieve the goal of zero net emissions by 2050, GHG emissions must already be reduced by 60% by 2030. As with a balanced budget in the long term, it is essential to take immediate, concrete and continuous reduction measures, otherwise the target can never be achieved by the set deadline. Let’s start.
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, over 60 institutions in international Geneva have decided to take action to confront the challenge of climate change by implementing 2050Today. Permanent Missions, international organisations, academia 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. To advance further and establish a common frame of reference with principles, defined objectives and specific actions, the participating institutions have signed the 2050Today Charter aimed at decarbonising international Geneva together.
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 within the planetary boundaries.
Participation in 2050Today is open to all international Geneva entities
We will be glad to welcome your institution
Researchers find 89% of people around the world want more to be done, but mistakenly assume their peers do not
Source: The Guardian
April 24, 2025
Guyana’s rapid ascent to major oil producer has come at a steep price: rising inequality, weakened environmental regulations and unchecked gas flaring
Source: Climate Home News
April 17, 2025
New WRI research shows that pro-climate behavior changes, such as driving less or eating less meat, could theoretically cancel out all the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions an average person produces each year1 — specifically among high-income, high-emitting populations.
But it also reveals that efforts focused exclusively on changing behaviors, and not the overarching systems around them, only achieve about one-tenth of this emissions-reduction potential. The remaining 90% stays locked away, dependent on governments, businesses and our own collective action to make sustainable choices more accessible for everyone. (Case in point: It’s much easier to go carless if your city has good public transit.)
Source: World Resources Institute
April 10, 2025
Half a century of oil drilling has left the world’s largest rainforest scarred by deforestation and pollution. Now it is bracing for a new wave of fossil fuel extraction
Source: Climate Home News
April 4, 2025
Not just a future problem: The world is changing before our eyes.
Source: Yale Climate Connections
March 21, 2025
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas — 84 times stronger than carbon dioxide over 20 years. Because it traps heat more intensely in the short-term than other GHGs, cutting methane emissions now can have a fast and significant impact on slowing climate change.
A good place to start is farms. Nearly half of global methane emissions come from agricultural activities such as livestock production, rice cultivation and burning crop waste. And with global food demand rising, these emissions are projected to grow.
The good news is that promising approaches are emerging to rein in agriculture’s climate impact. A new WRI report provides the latest scientific updates, as well as economic considerations for over 25 methane mitigation solutions.
Source: World Resources Institute
March 19, 2025
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.
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.
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 2022 due to human emissions from fossil fuels and industry excluding land-use change 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.
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.
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
