It’s time to shift our climate action paradigm
For half a century, we’ve been single-mindedly focused on reducing our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Yet, our emissions continue to rise, and they will remain in the atmosphere for centuries to come if we let them.
We must simultaneously build our global capacity for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) if we want to leave today’s youth and future generations a climate that can sustain them.
Climate restoration, mitigation, and adaptation must happen in concert and with urgency
While some are skeptical about the impact that scaling up CDR might have on other climate efforts, the IPCC recognizes that we will need 100-1,000 gigatons (Gt) of carbon removal by the end of the century just to meet 1.5 degree C warming goals. (In order to achieve F4CR’s goal of climate restoration, we aim to remove 1,000 Gt of CO2 by 2050 to return atmospheric levels to 300 parts per million or less.) It is no longer enough to reduce emissions without also removing legacy emissions from the atmosphere, just like it is not enough to remove legacy emissions without adapting to our changing climate. These all need to happen together.
There are no enemies on this path
F4CR believes strongly that every person on this planet innately wants a safe and healthy climate for future generations. Where we differ is in our ideas of how to get there and what responsibility our generation has. We believe that keeping the door open to partnership with all stakeholders is critical, because we’re all invested in the habitability of our world. We’re committed to offering everyone a seat at the table to ensure that no one is left behind in climate restoration.