World Wildlife Fund Overview
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| Polar bear habitat is at risk from the effects of climate change. © WWF-Canon / Wim VAN PASSEL |
Around the world, climate change is threatening not only individual species such as polar bears, tigers, salmon, penguins and corals, but it is also posing potentially catastrophic and long-term changes to the environment and people’s lives around the world.
In addition to rising temperatures, climate change is resulting in sea level rise, increased hurricane intensity, glacier decline, increased drought, spread of disease, shifts in the timing of seasons, increased flooding, changes in freshwater supply, and an increase in extreme weather events.
What’s Causing Climate Change?
Burning fossil fuels - coal, oil and gas - releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere where carbon pollution blankets the Earth, traps in heat, and causes global warming. Deforestation and land-use exacerbates this problem. Electricity generation is the biggest single source of man-made carbon dioxide pollution, amounting to 37 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. [Source: World Coal Institute, 2003; International Energy Agency, 2003]
| We Must Act Now “In 6 to 10 years we are going to see changes in our climate system that we won’t be able to fix. This is a massive, urgent issue and we need to have the foresight to make changes before it’s too late.” There is Good News “This isn’t supposed to be depressing - it should be inspiring. Americans are finally awakening to climate change and the fact that they need to do something.”Dr. Lara Hansen, WWF’s Chief Climate Change Scientist |
WWF: A Leading Force Against Climate Change
WWF is working to stop climate change by providing cutting-edge science, championing policies to reduce carbon emissions and mobilizing businesses to drive new and innovative solutions. With a team of dedicated experts working in more than 50 countries, we are focusing our efforts on four areas where we can have the most impact:
- Creating Responsible Global Warming Policies
- Working with Businesses to Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions
- Implementing Adaptation Plans for High Risk Communities
- Protecting Forests That Help Mitigate Climate Change
Climate Solutions: WWF’s Vision for 2050 (PDF, 2.12MB)
Brochure: Facing the new climate - How WWF helps curb global warming (PDF, 1.34MB)
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