Climate Stories

Climate change-related threats to biodiversity are happening now. As habitats change, extreme weather events increase, and temperatures rise, we need new tools to help biodiversity adapt.

We can and must rethink our approach to development—what it looks like, what it’s delivering, and how it’s meeting our needs—to ensure that it's more useful for people and less harmful to wildlife.

In a first-of-its-kind study, the Global Futures Report calculates the economic cost of nature’s decline across 140 countries using a new economic and environmental modeling technique to assess what the macroeconomic impact would be if the world didn’t act now to protect the planet. The United States will see the losses of annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) totaling $83 billion taken from its economy each year by 2050 if the world doesn’t act urgently to address the global environmental crisis.

Beginning in 1981, the coastal community was forced to move inland when it became clear that erosion, accelerated by retreating sea ice and strong storms, would one day take the town altogether.

Last year was the second hottest on record, closing out the warmest decade so far. This is the sixth consecutive year in which global temperatures were the highest on record—an unprecedented streak, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The earth’s temperature is rising, and for decades scientists have focused on limiting the temperature increase to 1.5°C. Many reports warn that exceeding the 1.5°C limit would have irreversible impacts on people, species, and ecosystems. And now it’s now becoming evident that before the climate can stabilize at 1.5°C, it will likely overshoot it.

How can we realistically cut carbon emissions and limit global warming? One key way is by pricing carbon—placing a tax on every ton of greenhouse gas emitted to make cleaner alternatives competitive.

Climate change impacts all parts of the world, and finding solutions to the challenges posed by such an immense threat will require action from every country. Annual international climate talks are key to effectively addressing the problem.

There is no question that the climate crisis is here right now. But there is good news: every day we see more individuals, organizations, businesses, and governments responding to the crisis.

The Alliances for Climate Action initiative was formed by WWF and partners to connect an international network of domestic coalitions committed to accelerating the transition to a zero-carbon future.

I work with governments, businesses, and others around the world to address runaway climate change. Our greatest challenge is the inertia of a centuries-old political and economic system.

What should be frozen solid is now thawing and melting away—and communities are already dealing with the consequences. From Alaska to Miami to Bangladesh, learn how ice loss and sea level rise are impacting communities.

Drastic and swift-moving changes to our oceans and the cryosphere—the Earth’s snow and ice-covered places—are one of the most dramatic consequences of global warming.

An analysis of satellite imagery determined the annual sea ice minimum in 2019 tied the record for second-lowest.

A close look at the coastline reveals thawing permafrost oozing over the snow along the Chukchi Sea. The Arctic is warming twice as fast—and quite possibly faster—than any other place on the planet.

There is still a gap between what countries pledged to do in the Paris Agreement and what scientists say is needed to avert climate catastrophe. To address this, countries set five-year milestones to take stock of progress and strengthen commitments with the first of these opportunities coming in 2020.

Devyn Friedfel is working to help communities in California prepare for a future that will see more fires and droughts. He knows that stopping climate change isn’t an option, so it’s important that mitigate and adapt to its effects.

Located on a tiny island in the Chukchi Sea, just north of the Bering Strait and 20 miles below the Arctic Circle, Shishmaref has struggled for decades with coastal erosion and flooding attributed to climate change. Arctic Youth Ambassador, Gabriel Stenek share's its story.

Miami is often dubbed the "ground zero" for climate change. But as sea levels rise, so, too, does a generation of leaders showing the world what climate action looks like and fighting for the only home we know.

The connection between food and land use and global climate change is the subject of a special report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations body that assesses the science of climate change for the benefit of global policymakers. IPCC’s August 2019 report focuses especially on the impact of agriculture—with good reason.

Using new technology, like drones and digital tags, researchers have found that nearly every part of the Antarctica peninsula is important for whales’ feeding and resting. But it is also a hotspot for global climate change. WWF is calling for the protection of this remote wilderness in or effort to preserve 30% of the oceans by 2030.

Coffee is waking people up around the world, and its popularity is soaring—particularly in China and Southeast Asia. But for the small farmers who grow most of that coffee, the future is uncertain.

More intense droughts and frosts caused by climate change make farming in Oaxaca, Mexico, harder. But two agricultural tools could help farmers boost the resilience of their crops by harvesting fog.

Ice is a defining factor in Ittoqqortoormiit, a village of 350 on the coast of Greenland. But the ice is changing and the community now works to protect itself from the impacts of climate change.