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The history of climate change explained in 6 charts from our climate briefing. A thread economist.com/briefing/2019/…
CO2 emissions across the world are (almost) off the charts 
In 1900 burning fossil fuels produced about 2bn tonnes of carbon dioxide. Today, the number is nearly 20 times greater
Richer nations produce the lion's share of emissions; poorer ones will suffer the worst consequences
The last time the Earth had a carbon-dioxide level similar to today's, it was on average about 3°C warmer. Greenland's hills were green
Every decade since the 1970s has been warmer than the one before
Signatories of the Paris agreement vowed to hold global warming "well below" 2°C. But there is no safe limit below which climate change has no harmful effects
Warming already exceeds 1.5°C in some places. Climate models that include human activity are the only ones that can explain this
Temperatures in the Arctic are warming twice as fast as the global average
How can the impacts of climate change be mitigated? To start with, the world needs to reverse the 20-fold increase in emissions the 20th century set in train
If warming is to be held to 1.5°C, emissions need to be effectively eliminated by around 2050
Learn more about the history and the future of climate change in our climate change 101: economist.com/briefing/2019/…
