An overview - understand the state of climate change in five charts

There are many graphs out there that could show you doom and gloom about climate change, but we think these 5 charts tell you what you need to know.

Key Takeaways:

Good - The rate at which we are studying, experimenting, and implementing climate policies is increasing.

Good - We have the technology to limit Earth's warming to 1.5 degrees C but we need a lot of people on board.

Bad - Momentum is building again for climate change but is still threatened by a COVID-19 induced global recession and a lack of timely or meaningful response. Past attempts at a response have not managed to meaningfully impact emissions and we’re running out of time.

1. Emissions of greenhouse gases, primarily made up of carbon dioxide (CO2), have been rising primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels and attempts to limit its accumulation have yet to make an impact. (Source: Our World in Data based on Global Carbon Project)

2. The effect of rising CO2 levels is increasing global average temperature. With quick action, we can still have a chance to limit its impacts. (Source: International Panel on Climate Change Special Report on 2019 climate change impacts)

3. An increased global temperature is a big problem because an average increase of +2 °C (+3.6 °F) means an increase of +6-10 °C (+11 - 18 °F) near the poles.  (Source: International Panel on Climate Change Special Report on 2019 climate change impacts)
   
   

4. Which is predicted to have the following impacts on Earth Systems. (Source: International Panel on Climate Change Special Report on 2019 climate change impacts)

   
   
5. All of the science is currently worried about a +2 °C temperature rise but current government policies are tracking towards a warming level of +3 °C. That would be +30 °F over the arctic! (Source: Climate Action Tracker)
   
   
   
   
6. All is not lost though - there are two ways to think about limiting temperature rise to 1.5C.

1. a 60% reduction in fossil fuel emissions by 2030 or 7% per year (source: https://carbon-budget.com/)
   
   
   
2. total remaining emissions of no more than 570 billion tons or 72 tons per person - the sooner we reduce, the more time we have to come up with additional solutions (or limit warming further). For reference, the world is currently emitting 37 billion tons per year giving us 15 years until we can emit zero tons at our current emissions rate.

6. Two pieces of good news:

1. 1. We can reduce emissions 70% with existing mature technology (renewable energy and electric cars and trucks).
      1. Areas of the United States have already demonstrated a 50% reduction over 12 years. Kotoo offers investments to keep that progress moving at an even faster pace.
   2. We went from having no satellites to people on the moon in 11 years so 9 years is not an impossible amount of time for something we put our mind to. 

7. Want to help out?

1. The fastest and most cost effective way to reduce emissions is to convert coal power plants to renewable energy with Kotoo's decarbonization investments. For the same price as leasing an electric car for 3-5 years, Kotoo can counter your entire life’s carbon emissions(~30,000-50,000 gallons of gas or 300-500 tons of CO2) from future powerplant emissions. That's 100x as much as you would avoid with the electric car.
   
   Not everyone can afford an electric car so we start our investments as low as $12 for each 114 gallons of gas (1 ton). They've been proven to work via independent government and peer-reviewed data.
   
   More information about how it works or Counter your emissions with Kotoo
   
2. Kotoo also recommends supporting companies that are aggressively decarbonizing their supply chain. 
3. If you're looking to do even more - the next most effective thing you can do is to decrease your red meat consumption. An average American switching to a vegetarian diet saves 300 gallons of gas every year while also saving $240/year. Even an action as simple as eating chicken and pork instead of beef can save the equivalent of 100 gallons of gas each year.
4. Lastly - the number one thing you can do (but also the hardest to achieve) is to buy used or refurbished items instead of new ones. Production of new physical goods accounts for roughly 50-70% of an American's total emissions. If you want to know your exact numbers - try our calculator! (available after making an account)
5. What about planting trees and other offsets? Trees are amazing, it's true. In fact nature is the only way we know how to remove carbon dioxide from the air in a cost effective manner. The single biggest reason we don't recommend these actions is that they don’t work fast enough and they aren't very cost effective compared to other options available. Most offsets require 7+ years to start being effective and we don't have that much time. Learn why we don't recommend traditional offsets.