The long-term global warming trend is largely due to human activities that have increased emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The planet is already seeing the effects of global warming: Arctic sea ice is declining, sea levels are rising, and wildfires are becoming more severe.
“Science leaves no room for doubt: Climate change is the existential threat of our time,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Eight of the top 10 warmest years on our planet occurred in the last decade, an indisputable fact that underscores the need for bold action to safeguard the future of our country and all of humanity.”

From smog hanging over cities to smoke inside the home, air pollution poses a major threat to health and climate. The combined effects of ambient (outdoor) and household air pollution cause millions of premature deaths every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.
WHO (World Health Organization) data shows that almost all of the global population (99%) breathe air that exceeds WHO guideline limits containing high levels of pollutants, with low- and middle-income countries suffering from the highest exposures.

The IUCN Red List now includes 77,340 assessed species, of which 22,784 are threatened with extinction. The loss and degradation of habitat are identified as the main threat to 85% of all species described on the IUCN Red List, with illegal trade and invasive species also being key drivers of population decline.

Daily per capita waste generation in high-income countries is projected to increase by 19 percent by 2050, compared to low- and middle-income countries where it is expected to increase by approximately 40% or more. Plastic is a major contributing material to waste statistics. At least 14 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean every year, and plastic makes up 80% of all marine debris found from surface waters to deep-sea sediments. Plastic pollution threatens food safety and quality, human health, coastal tourism, and contributes to climate change.

Some sobering facts about our forests:

• According to satellite data from 2002 through 2019, global tropical forest loss averaged 3.36 million hectares (8.3 million acres) a year — an area larger than Belgium.
• More than half the world's tropical forests have been destroyed since the 1960s.
• In 2019, the world lost an entire soccer field worth of primary rain forest every six seconds.
• Between 2001 and 2019, Brazil lost 565,000 square kilometers (218,148 square miles) of tree cover — an area larger than the state of California — to deforestation

At least one-quarter of the carbon dioxide (CO2) released by burning coal dissolves into the ocean. Through a chemical reaction, the pH of the surface water is lowered. Excessive increases in CO2 overrides the ocean's natural ability to buffer against lower pH levels, so the ocean is becoming more and more acidic. Such a relatively quick change in ocean chemistry doesn't give marine life, which evolved over millions of years in an ocean with a generally stable pH, much time to adapt. In fact, the shells of some animals are already dissolving in the more acidic seawater, and that's just one way that acidification may affect ocean life.