10 Things to Know About Climate Change

10: There is no real scientific debate about climate change. A 2016 review showed that at least 97 percent of actively publishing climate scientists agree climate change is happening and is extremely likely caused by human activities.

9: A large majority of the United States (70%) understands climate change is real and is caused by human activity, including 60% of Republicans.

8: In 2015, only half of the U.S. Senate had publicly acknowledged human caused climate change.

7: We are making progress. Greenhouse gas emissions in the US have shrunk by 16% in the past decade, in part due to the availability of renewable energy.

6: 192 countries – and the European Union – signed on the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 to drastically reduce carbon emissions by 2030.

5: Climate change is not a future problem. We are already seeing impacts from climate change, including flooding from rising sea levels, extreme weather, and wildfire.

4: In October 2016, the generating capacity of renewable energy systems around the world surpassed that of coal power, which is the most harmful of the fossil-fuel based energy sources.

3: Forests have the capacity to pull massive amounts of carbon out of the atmosphere. In fact, storing carbon in forests and soils is the only “technology” that is available immediately to provide negative emissions at the scale needed to avoid the worst effects of climate change.

2: You have the power to help address climate change. Here are some easy ways that you can help.

1: It’s not too late. If we take action now, we can still avoid the worst-case scenarios of climate change impact.