The third most popular video of 2019 presents a frightening truth: The best-case scenario of climate change is that the world gets just 2°C hotter, which scientists call the "threshold of

The third most popular video of 2019 presents a frightening truth: The best-case scenario of climate change is that the world gets just 2°C hotter, which scientists call the "threshold of catastrophe".

Why is that the good news? Because if humans don't change course now, the planet is on a trajectory to reach 4°C at the end of this century, which would bring $600 trillion in global climate damages, double the warfare, and a refugee crisis 100x worse than the Syrian exodus.

David Wallace-Wells explains what would happen at an 8°C and even 13°C increase. These predictions are horrifying, but should not scare us into complacency. "It should make us focus on them more intently," he says.

David Wallace-Wells is a national fellow at the New America Foundation and a columnist and deputy editor at New York magazine. He was previously the deputy editor of The Paris Review. He lives in New York City.

RSA Minimate: Climate Change and the Future of Humanity - David Wallace-Wells

Global warming is the existential challenge of our age. The time for denial and delay is over. The time

RSA Minimate: Climate Change and the Future of Humanity - David Wallace-Wells

Global warming is the existential challenge of our age. The time for denial and delay is over. The time for commitment and collective action is now. In this compelling new RSA Minimate, bestselling author David Wallace-Wells warns us of the grave dangers ahead if we continue our current course, and urges us to choose a new pathway for humanity.

Find out more about The Uninhabitable Earth in David Wallace-Wells’ RSA talk here.

The minds behind the award-winning RSA Animate series are back! RSA Minimates are super-short, information-packed animations for busy people. All audio excerpts are taken from live FREE events at the RSA’s HQ in London and animated by Cognitive. This animation was produced by Abi Stephenson and Mairi Ryan at the RSA.

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