2024 Climate Data Are In. We Need To Be Winning Faster.

Passing 1.5C for one year underscores why we must double down on climate action

2024 marked the first year that average global temperatures exceeded 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. 2024 also marked the first year that solar and wind produced more electricity than coal in America.

Events like the horrifying fires in Los Angeles are driven by greenhouse gases, which make global average temperatures hotter and make extreme weather events more likely. Cutting that climate pollution comes down to transforming our energy and industrial systems to deliver the same or better services without emitting greenhouse gases.

We are making huge strides to do just that – with record levels of clean energy deployment, but it's never been more clear that we are in a race against time. Time is the enemy. At this point, delay is denial of the relentless reality of climate change.

The 2024 temperature milestone is serious and further underscores the need for speedy action. But it is important to remember that passing 1.5°C for one year does not breach the Paris Agreement’s target. Long-term temperature targets like those discussed in international climate negotiations are defined as stabilization targets over a decadal timescale, and we’re ending an El Nino phase, which typically is associated with warmer global temperatures.

In other words, a one-year breach does not mean the target has been breached.

And climate science is clear: when emissions drop, global warming slows. Reaching net zero emissions can stop it.

America’s 2024 solar and wind milestone is just one data point showing we are making progress cutting emissions. Experts agree China’s greenhouse gas emissions will likely peak this year—a huge win, given it’s the world’s largest emitter. And the European Union recorded its largest annual drop in emissions in decades and is working now on a package of policies to hit 55 percent reductions by 2030.

So please let last year’s breach of 1.5°C motivate you, as it does me, to double down on the progress we are already making to build a better economy that preserves our climate and delivers for people.

The guiding truth of climate action remains: Every ton of emissions counts – every tenth of a degree of warming we manage to avoid will save people’s lives and protect our economy. Limiting warming to 2°C will save millions of lives by 2100 and prevent trillions in economic damage by 2050.

Let’s keep working together.