This is your guide to a world on fire.
 | | Scott Gelber |
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So many of the conversations about global warming focus on the direst consequences, projected far into the future: images of fires and floods on an increasingly uninhabitable planet if the governments of the world — and especially those of the United States, China and the other leading greenhouse gas emitters — fail to curb their use of fossil fuels. But the truth is that we are already living in a world that is being transformed by climate change. Every single country on Earth is feeling its effects — today. |
That is the idea behind "Postcards From a World on Fire," a major project from Times Opinion that published this morning. Last summer, as the COP26 meeting in Glasgow approached, we began work on what I envisioned as an expansive climate project that would draw on nearly every journalistic tool at our disposal. I wanted an assessment of where things stood from every country in the world and to make a bold argument for urgency. That call to action felt even more necessary as we watched the Glasgow summit come and go with high hopes and, ultimately, tepid actions. |
A team of our journalists — led by Meeta Agrawal, Times Opinion's special projects editor — has documented one way that climate change is having an impact in each of the 193 United Nations member states. It's been a breathtaking effort to watch come together. Some of these stories may seem small, like an ancient drawing flaking off a cave wall in Indonesia; others are undeniably harrowing, like the stories of hungry people fleeing their homes in Guatemala; others may even seem hopeful, like the move toward building wooden skyscrapers in Norway. |
But taken together, they tell a story about what we consider to be the most existential issue facing the planet today. As the video editorial that is at the core of this project says: "Open your eyes: We have failed. The climate crisis is now." |
We hope that you'll spend time reading, watching and listening to this project. It showcases everything that Times Opinion journalism can do: There are audio dispatches from around the world, arresting photographs, personal videos, stunning graphic design and visual storytelling. |
As this project makes clear, climate change is already underway. At this point, we can't stop it. But we can all work to limit the damage. We must. |
Here's what we're focusing on today: |
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