Credit: DPA Picture Alliance via AFP/Jens Buttner
25 Jul 2024 Video Climate Action

Why the next round of climate pledges marks a crucial moment for the planet

Credit: DPA Picture Alliance via AFP/Jens Buttner

As the world bakes under record heat, the nearly 200 parties to the Paris Agreement are developing new national plans to counter climate change. Experts say the blueprints, due in 2025, will be crucial to determining whether humanity can stave off a bleak future of droughts, heatwaves and other extreme weather. 

The strategies, known as nationally determined contributions, will outline how countries plan to adapt to climate change and rein in the greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the planet and creating climate chaos. Work on the plans comes amid news that June was the 13th month in a row to set a new temperature record. 

Nationally determined contributions are at the heart of the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C over pre-industrial levels, a mark that would allow the Earth to avoid the worst impacts of climate change

For more on how nationally determined contributions work and how they can help keep the 1.5°C goal alive, check out the video.