Out of balance

It’s getting warmer and warmer…

Nature, the foundation of our existence, is out of balance. This is due to the impact of human activities on the environment: CO₂ emissions, pollution and changes in land use. This con­tributes to more and more greenhouse gases accumulating in the atmosphere, causing temperatures to rise.

Greenhouse gas concentrations have not been as high as they are today since 3 million years ago – but there were no humans back then. In 2024, this led to temperatures that were on av­er­age +1.5 °C higher worldwide than before industrialisation around 1850; in Switzerland, they were even +2.9 °C higher! This made 2024 the warmest year ever measured. At around +0.2 °C per decade, Earth is warming at an alarming rate by
geo­logical standards. With the climate measures ­currently en­shrined in law, we are heading for an average warming of ­ap­prox­i­mately +3.2 °C by the end of the century relative to pre-­industrial levels.

The consequences

The complexity and extent of the consequences for life on Earth cannot be realistically assessed. The effects of ­climate change pose an extreme threat to our health and that of ani­mals and plants. Securing clean water and food poses ­major ­challenges for our society in an environment of increasing ­di­vision, po­larisation and information manipulation.

Let’s keep it CO₂OL

The only way to a healthy future is through keeping nature ­healthy. If we protect it, we protect ourselves. To do this, we must act together with respect, trust and mutual support.