Quotes About Climate Change & Global Warming [61 Great Quotes, #24 & #33 are My Favorites]

The argument we have about climate change isn’t if it is real or not. Almost everyone agrees that global warming is happening.

Our debate is whether it is a human-made or natural event. You’ll find passionate people on both sides of that conversation supporting their opinions.

The evidence for climate change is overwhelming. Before today, carbon dioxide levels had never been above 320 parts per million.

Our current levels are about 30% above that figure.

Ice cores taken from mountain glaciers, Antarctica, and Greenland show us how our planet responds to the changes found in atmospheric greenhouse gases. We can even look at coral reefs, ocean sediment, and tree rings to see climate change evidence.

We know that human activities cause carbon dioxide levels to increase 250 times faster than they did during the last Ice Age.

Since the late 19^th century, our planet’s average surface temperature has risen by two degrees Fahrenheit.

What Are the Expected Outcomes from Climate Change?

In 2020, the Atlantic Ocean’s hurricane season set a record for the number of named storms that developed.

The number of extreme events continues to rise. Since 1950, the United States, United Kingdom, and hundreds of weather stations globally have seen increases in the number of record high and low temperatures recorded on each date.

Some locations are experiencing prolonged drought, while others see increases in the total number of extreme rainfall events.

We know that the ocean absorbs up to 30% of the carbon dioxide emissions, causing its acidity to rise by nearly 30% since the start of the Industrial Revolution.

Declining Arctic sea ice, rising ocean levels, decreased snow cover, and glacial retreat are all indications that climate change is already here.

It is up to each of us to stay informed about global warming. One of the ways we can accomplish this outcome is to research and understand the quotes offered by numerous people about this subject.

Some of the Best Quotes About Climate Change and Global Warming

A lot of the countries and groups of people that are putting in a lot of climate work will disproportionately feel the effects of climate change. And they’re not even the people that created this mess in the first place. Elsa Mengistu

I’m agnostic as to the causes. All I know is there is water where there once was ice. Thad Allen

Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans. Jacques-Yves Cousteau

Man has reached the point where his impact on the climate can be as significant as nature’s. Joby Warrick

Climate change is real. Climate change is being substantially increased by humans and the carbon we put into the atmosphere. And it appears to be speeding up. If science has made any mistakes, science has been underestimating it. James Balog

People tend to focus on the here and now. The problem is that, once global warming is something that most people can feel in the course of their daily lives, it will be too late to prevent much larger, potentially catastrophic changes. Elizabeth Kolbert

I’ll never understand why people somehow support pollution. It’s completely irrational, and I don’t get it. Somewhere along the line, they bought into this fiction that one has to choose between the environment and business, which is just a complete falsehood and absurd. Steven Van Zandt

We are running out of time, we must have a planetary solution to a planetary crisis. Al Gore

Although the magnitude of climate change may make individuals feel helpless, individual action is critical for meaningful change. Mia Armstrong

10.

The world is reaching the tipping point beyond which climate change may become irreversible. If this happens, we risk denying present and future generations the right to a healthy and sustainable planet – the whole of humanity stands to lose. Kofi Annan

11.

Twenty-five years ago people could be excused for not knowing much, or doing much, about climate change. Today we have no excuse. Desmond Tutu

12.

One in four Americans are skeptical about climate change. Who gives a shit? That doesn’t matter. You don’t need people’s opinions on a fact. You might as well have a poll asking which number is bigger, 5 or 15? or do owls exist? or are there hats? John Oliver

13.

We are running the most dangerous experiment in history right now, which is to see how much carbon dioxide the atmosphere can handle before there is an environmental catastrophe. Elon Musk

14.

Climate change does not respect border; it does not respect who you are — rich and poor, small and big. Therefore, this is what we call ‘global challenges,’ which require global solidarity. Ban Ki-moon

15.

All across the world, in every kind of environment and region known to man, increasingly dangerous weather patterns and devastating storms are abruptly putting an end to the long-running debate over whether or not climate change is real. Not only is it real, it’s here, and its effects are giving rise to a frighteningly new global phenomenon: the man-made natural disaster. Barack Obama

16.

The greatest danger to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it. Robert Swan

17.

The warnings about global warming have been extremely clear for a long time. We are facing a global climate crisis. It is deepening. We are entering a period of consequences. Al Gore

18.

Climate change is not a discrete issue; it’s a symptom of larger problems. Fundamentally, our society as currently designed has no future. We’re chewing up the planet so fast, in so many different ways, that we could solve the climate problem tomorrow and still find that environmental collapse is imminent. Alex Steffen

19.

We cannot burn our way to the future. We cannot pretend the danger does not exist — or dismiss it because it affects someone else. Ban Ki-moon

20.

For millions of Americans, climate change is no longer just a chart or a graph. It’s the smoke on our tongues from massive wildfires. It’s the floodwater invading our homes and record-breaking hurricanes and heat waves. Jay Inslee

21.

I’m often asked whether I believe in global warming. I now just reply with the question: Do you believe in gravity? Neil deGrasse Tyson

22.

We don’t have to save the world. The world is big enough to look after itself. What we have to be concerned about is whether or not the world we live in will be capable of sustaining us in it. Douglas Adams

23.

If we do not change our negative habits toward climate change, we can count on worldwide disruptions in food production, resulting in mass migration, refugee crises and increased conflict over scarce natural resources like water and farm land. This is a recipe for major security problems. Michael Franti

24.

When the last tree has been cut down, the last fish caught, the last river poisoned, only then will we realize that one cannot eat money. Native American saying

25.

While human-induced global warming is not going to turn present-day Earth into present-day Mars, global warming is dire enough that our most distinguished scientists recently concluded that as many as 1 million species on the planet could be extinct by 2050 if affairs do not change. Jay Inslee

26.

We seriously have to question the motivation of those people referred to as climate change sceptics, who are denying the evidence of human-caused climate change and preventing us from moving forward by spreading disinformation and supporting unchecked carbon pollution. Kofi Annan

27.

No single technology will stop global warming, but there is a silver bullet: a cap on carbon that will launch all these solutions into the mainstream. Fred Krupp

28.

The truth is: The natural world is changing and we are totally dependent on that world. It provides our food, water, and air. It is the most precious thing we have and we need to defend it. David Attenborough

29.

Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed. Mahatma Gandhi

30.

Climate change is the single biggest thing that the humans have ever done on this planet. The one thing that needs to be bigger is our movement to stop it. Bill McKibben

31.

Two thousand scientists, in a hundred countries, engaged in the most elaborate, well organized scientific collaboration in the history of humankind, have produced long-since a consensus that we will face a string of terrible catastrophes unless we act to prepare ourselves and deal with the underlying causes of global warming. Al Gore

32.

Climate change is no longer a doomsday prophecy. It’s a reality. Astrid Noklebye Heiberg

33.

Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. Carl Sagan

34.

We are the first generation to feel the sting of climate change, and we are the last generation that can do something about it. Jay Inslee

35.

The wounds we have inflicted on the earth can be healed… but if it is to be done, it must be done now. Otherwise it may never be done at all. Jonathon Porritt

36.

Everywhere I look there are opportunities to be addressing climate change and everywhere I look we are not doing it. Bill Nye

37.

The challenge of pollution and global warming is no longer the science, or the rate of innovation, but the rate of implementation: We have the clean solutions; now let’s bundle them and install them. Jens Martin Skibsted

38.

I hope to use my celebrity to motivate people and contribute to moving our global society back from the brink. I am surprised environment is not at the top of the agenda. What is more important than good and clean air? Don Cheadle

39.

We need healthy forests if we want to protect our climate. As the climate changes, forests become more vulnerable to insect outbreaks, droughts and wildfires. Simultaneously, when our forests are destroyed, their carbon is released back into the atmosphere, further impacting climate change. It’s a horrifying one-two punch. Chris Noth

40.

For most of history, man has had to fight nature to survive; in this century he is beginning to realize that, in order to survive, he must protect it. Jacques-Yves Cousteau

41.

I always wondered why somebody don’t do something about global warming. Then I realised I am somebody. Lily Tomlin

42.

We are no longer at the point of preventing climate disaster from happening entirely — we are now at the point of minimising the damage. And as these floods and storms are here, I think more and more people are going to be willing to stand up for themselves. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

43.

What’s the use of a fine house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on. Henry David Thoreau

44.

There is no plan B because there is no planet B.

45.

Climate change is sometimes misunderstood as being about changes in the weather. In reality, it is about changes in our very way of life. Paul Polman

46.

A planet being pushed to the edge will eventually turn on us. Marco Lambertini

47.

Whether you believe climate change is real or not is beside the point. The bottom line is, we can’t run the risk. Michael Bloomberg

48.

I used to be skeptical of global warming, but now I’m absolutely convinced that the world is spiraling out of control. CO2 is like a bushfire that gets bigger and bigger every year. Richard Branson

49.

Climate change isn’t something in the future. That narrative is fundamentally flawed because there are millions impacted and so many displaced already. That is the new inconvenient truth that no one wants to hear. Aneesa Khan

50.

Climate change is the greatest threat to our existence in our short history on this planet. Nobody’s going to buy their way out of its effects. Mark Buffalo

51.

We are living on this planet as if we had another one to go to. Terri Swearingen

52.

One problem facing humanity is now so urgent that, unless it is resolved in the next two decades, it will destroy our global civilization: the climate crisis. Dr. Tim Flannery

53.

The last time the planet warmed this much, 88% of life disappeared. Robert Devoy

54.

Climate change isn’t something people get to choose to believe or not: it’s happening. Matt Gazet

55.

Ignorance does not make you fireproof when the world is burning. Nelou Keramati

56.

If you really think that the environment is less important than the economy, try holding your breath while you count your money. Guy McPherson

57.

Our economic system, run for profit and waste and based primarily on the extractive industries, is the cause of climate change. We have wasted the earth’s treasure and we can no longer exploit it cheaply. Vivienne Westwood

58.

Today, we can see with our own eyes what global warming is doing. In that context it becomes truly irresponsible, if not immoral, for us not to do something. Joe Lieberman

59.

When the last tree is cut, the last fish is caught, and the last river is polluted; when to breathe the air is sickening, you will realize, too late, that wealth is not in bank accounts and that you can’t eat money. Alanis Obomsawim

60.

One of the big questions in the climate change debate: Are humans any smarter than frogs in a pot? If you put a frog in a pot and slowly turn up the heat, it won’t jump out. Instead, it will enjoy the nice warm bath until it is cooked to death. We humans seem to be doing pretty much the same thing. Jeff Goodell

61.

While the problem can sometimes seem overwhelming, we can turn things around — but we must move beyond climate talk to climate action. Ted Turner

What Are the Solutions We Have to Solve Climate Change?

Project Drawdown looked at the effects of climate change and global warming. With the help of Paul Hawken, the team ranked 80 different solutions that could potentially stop or reduce the effects our planet is currently experiencing.

If we were to implement all 80 of the ideas, it could sequester or reduce carbon dioxide emissions by over 1,050 gigatons by 2050.

Here are some of the best steps that we can start taking right now to create the positive changes we want to see with our environment.

Refrigeration Management

Although we know that CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) and HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons) deplete the ozone layer in the stratosphere, huge volumes continue to circulate in refrigeration appliances.

When they did get phased out, hydrofluorocarbons were the replacement, creating up to 9,000 times more CO2 in the atmosphere. About 90% of these emissions occur during disposal.

If we remove and store HFCs, CFCs, and HCFCs correctly, we can purify and reuse them without creating more of an adverse impact on the atmosphere.

Onshore Wind Turbines

Fossil fuel development sidelined the wind energy industry during the 20th century. The companies developing crude oil, natural gas, and similar substances received over $5 trillion in direct or indirect subsidies per year, compared to only $12 billion for onshore turbines.

In 2015, 63 gigawatts came from about 314,000 active wind turbines. This effort produced about 4% of global electricity.

Interconnected grids, new turbine designs, and sitting practices address the potential concerns people have with this technology.

The total wind potential in Texas, North Dakota, and Kansas could fuel the United States.

America’s full onshore possibilities would power the world. When you include all of the other developed nations on our planet, this resource could significantly reduce greenhouse gases.

Food Waste Reduction

Our food-wasting habits contribute about 8% of the total carbon dioxide emissions released to the atmosphere each year. This issue happens even though about 800 million people go to bed hungry each day.

Most food loss incidents are unintended. The lack of refrigeration, infrastructure, and general storage makes it virtually impossible to transport fresh goods over long distances.

Spoilage happens on farms, with some products never leaving the fields.

Suppose we manage this issue better by creating compost, improving distribution channels, and encouraging local agriculture to use modern practices. In that case, those activities could cause a dramatic drop in greenhouse grass production.

In conclusion, it is essential to remember that climate change is here. Global warming is altering our planetary landscape.

We can make changes to stop the problems that we see, but it means work must be done to prevent more issues from happening. If we could develop a plan to heal the ozone layer after only two years, we can certainly fix this problem.