Taking urgent action to tackle climate change and its impacts.

Thanks to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change we know:

• From 1880 to 2012, average global temperature increased by 0.85°C. To put this into perspective, for each 1 degree of temperature increase, grain yields decline by about 5 per cent. Maize, wheat and other major crops have experienced significant yield reductions at the global level of 40 megatonnes per year between 1981 and 2002 due to a warmer climate.
• Oceans have warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished and sea level has risen. From 1901 to 2010, the global average sea level rose by 19 cm as oceans expanded due to warming and ice melted. The Arctic's sea ice extent has shrunk in every successive decade since 1979, with 1.07 million km² of ice loss every decade
• Given current concentrations and on-going emissions of greenhouse gases, it is likely that by the end of this century, the increase in global temperature will exceed 1.5°C compared to 1850 to 1900 for all but one scenario. The world's oceans will warm and ice melt will continue. Average sea level rise is predicted as 24 - 30cm by 2065 and 40-63cm by 2100. Most aspects of climate change will persist for many centuries even if emissions are stopped
• Global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) have increased by almost 50 per cent since 1990
• Emissions grew more quickly between 2000 and 2010 than in each of the three previous decades
• It is still possible, using a wide array of technological measures and changes in behaviour, to limit the increase in global mean temperature to two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels
• Major institutional and technological change will give a better than even chance that global warming will not exceed this threshold

Climate change is caused by human activities and is threatening the way we live and the future of our planet. By addressing climate change, we can build a sustainable world for everyone. But we need to act now.

Yes. Severe weather and rising sea levels are affecting people and their property in developed and developing countries. From a small farmer in the Philippines to a businessman in London, climate change is affecting everyone, especially the poor and vulnerable, as well as marginalized groups like women, children, and the elderly.

If left unchecked, climate change will undo a lot of the progress made over the past years in development. It can also exacerbate, as we are already seeing, current threats such as food and water scarcity, which can lead to conflict. Doing nothing will end up costing us a lot more than if we take actions now that will lead to more jobs, greater prosperity, and better lives for all while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building climate resilience.

We can definitely address climate change, but we have to vastly increase our efforts. The world must transform its energy, industry, transport, food, agriculture and forestry systems to ensure that we can limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees, maybe even 1.5. We also need to anticipate, adapt and become resilient to the current and future impacts of climate change. In December 2015, the world took a significant first step by adopting the Paris Agreement, in which all countries committed to take action to address climate change. Many businesses and investors are also committing themselves to lower their emissions through the Climate Action Agenda-an effort born at the 2014 Climate Summit in New York to bring governments, businesses and civil society together to embark on new initiatives that promote climate action.

The way to think about it is not in terms of how expensive it will be, but how much we need to invest and what investment opportunities there are to address climate change. In total, public- and private-sector investment in clean energy needs to reach at least US$1 trillion per year by 2030, and more to build climate resilience. This sounds like a lot, but consider that of the US$1.6 trillion invested in the global energy supply in 2013, nearly 70% was related to fossil fuels. What's more is that the estimated costs of mitigation do not account for the benefits of reduced climate change. Investments of only $6 billion disaster risk reduction over the next 15 years would result in total benefits of the $360 billion in terms of avoided losses over the lifetime of the investment. By acting now, we save lives, money, and avoid setbacks in the progress we have achieved to date.

The Sustainable Development Goals aim to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. As such, the 17 SDGs and its associated 169 targets do not stand alone, but are are interconnected. The key to success on one will involve tackling issues more commonly associated with another. If you are interested in supporting a cause addressing to the goal {sdg.name}, you might also be interested in the related goals No Poverty, Affordable And Clean Energy, Decent Work And Economic Growth, Sustainable Cities And Communities and Responsible Consumption And Production.