2 degrees: key to climate change - CNN

Breaking News

Freedom Project Impact Your World Inside Africa 2 degrees CNN Heroes All Features

International Edition+

U.S.

International

Arabic

Español

CNN's John D. Sutter explores climate change and the importance of one number: 2 degrees Celsius.

Show Description

COP21: Paris climate talks

An activist holds up a rose as other activists gather to form a giant red line during a demonstration near the Arc de Triomphe at the Avenue de la Grande armee boulevard in Paris on December 12, 2015, as a proposed 195-nation accord to curb emissions of the heat-trapping gases that threaten to wreak havoc on Earth's climate system is to be presented at the United Nations conference on climate change COP21 in Le Bourget, on the outskirts of Paris. AFP PHOTO / ALAIN JOCARD / AFP / ALAIN JOCARD (Photo credit should read ALAIN JOCARD/AFP/Getty Images)

This is the end of fossil fuels

By John D. Sutter, CNN

The Paris Agreement is just the type of blaring signal the world needs that the era of fossil fuels is coming to a rapid close.

Hooray for the Paris climate agreement! Now what?

Obama: Climate agreement 'best chance we have' to save the planet

Indigenous voices protest in Paris

Q&A

Syrian refugees and migrants along a railway line as they try to cross from Serbia into Hungary near Horgos on September 1, 2015. European Union leaders called for action to defend the "dignity" of migrants ahead of fresh emergency talks, as tensions flared on the bloc's eastern borders over the escalating crisis. AFP PHOTO / ARIS MESSINIS (Photo credit should read ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Does climate change contribute to violence and war?

SGMD Lyme Disease_00004920.jpg

Does climate change contribute to disease?

Does eating bugs help fight climate change?

Composed of more than 3,000 individual reefs interspersed with more than 600 topical islands, the world's most extensive coral reef system is so large it can be identified from space. While the region has been protected since 1981, a 2012 study found that the delicate ecosystem has lost more than half of its coral since 1985 due to a combination of factors including coral bleaching caused by climate change.

More of your questions answered

two degrees, card

7 questions on 2 degrees

For two degrees, Woodward, Oklahoma story

Ask a question (you could end up on TV!)

Why 2 degrees?

QAQORTOQ, GREENLAND - JULY 30: Calved icebergs from the nearby Twin Glaciers are seen floating on the water on July 30, 2013 in Qaqortoq, Greenland. Boats are a crucial mode of transportation in the country that has few roads. As cities like Miami, New York and other vulnerable spots around the world strategize about how to respond to climate change, many Greenlanders simply do what theyve always done: adapt. 'Were used to change, said Greenlander Pilu Neilsen. 'We learn to adapt to whatever comes. If all the glaciers melt, well just get more land. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

2 degrees: The most important number you've never heard of

Got story tips? Send 'em here

Sign up for the two° newsletter

ISIS attacks won't derail Paris climate talks

Why more women need seats at the table

100 days to save the world

This 48-page document could determine the fate of the planet

Report: Global temperature hike already halfway to 2-degree limit

About the author

More from CNN's John D. Sutter
John D. Sutter is an award-winning columnist for CNN Opinion and creator of the network's 2 degrees initiative. To get involved, subscribe to his newsletter or follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send story ideas to climate@cnn.com.