Climate Clock

The Climate Clock is a graphic to demonstrate how quickly the planet is approaching 1.5℃ of global warming, given current emissions trends.[1] It also shows the amount of CO2 already emitted, and the global warming to date.

Metronome in November 2020, after the original clock was replaced with the Climate Clock

Overview

The Climate Clock was launched in 2015 to provide a measuring stick against which viewers can track climate change mitigation progress. The date shown when we reach 1.5℃ will move closer as emissions rise, and further away as emissions decrease. The clock is updated every year to reflect the latest global CO2 emissions trend and rate of climate warming.[2] As of 8 April 2020, the clock shows that the 1.5°C threshold will be breached in 7 years, 31 days and 7 hours (updated on 1 December 2020), or early on 2 January 2028, and current global warming to date is 1.14°C.

The clock is hosted by Human Impact Lab, itself part of Concordia University.[3][4] Organisations supporting the climate clock include Concordia University, the David Suzuki Foundation, Future Earth, and the Climate Reality Project.

Relevance

1.5℃ is an important threshold for many climate impacts, as shown by the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C. Every increment to global temperature is expected to increase weather extremes, such as heat waves and extreme precipitation events. There is also the risk of irreversible ice sheet loss. Consequent sea level rise also increases sharply between 1.5℃ and 2℃, and virtually all corals could be wiped out at 2℃ warming.[5]

Usage

In late September of 2020, artists Gan Golan and Andrew Boyd repurposed the Metronome in Union Square in New York City to show the Climate Clock.[6] The goal was to "remind the world every day just how perilously close we are to the brink." This is in juxtaposition to the Doomsday Clock, which measures a variety of factors that could lead to "destroying the world" using "dangerous technologies of our making,"[7] with Climate Change being one of the smaller factors. This specific installation is expected to be one of many in cities around the world. [8] At the time of installation, the clock read 7 years and 102 days. Greta Thunberg, Swedish environmental activist, was involved in the project early on, and reportedly received a hand-held version of the climate clock.

References
  1. The Climate Clock: counting down to 1,5°C
  2. The Climate Clock: counting down to 1,5°C
  3. About David Usher
  4. Concordia University Human Impact Lab: Climate Clock project
  5. The Climate Clock: counting down to 1,5°C
  6. Moynihan, Colin (2020-09-20). "A New York Clock That Told Time Now Tells the Time Remaining". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  7. Cowan, Jill (2020-02-06). "Tick, Tick, Tick. Why the Doomsday Clock Is Moving Closer to Midnight". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  8. "'Climate Clock' Unveiled in New York City". Earth.Org - Past | Present | Future. 2020-09-21. Retrieved 2020-11-15.

See also
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