Our grounding truths guide everything we do – from partnerships to research to policy engagement
Source: NOAA, relative to 20th-century average.
Grounding truth #1
Climate change is happening.
The science is clear: the planet is heating up, with 2024 the hottest year on record. Rising temperatures are driven by greenhouse gas emissions, now at an all-time high. To meet this challenge, we must urgently reduce emissions across the global economy.
Source: Forster et al., 2025; IEA WEO, 2024.
Grounding truth #2
We are set to overshoot 1.5°C, perhaps 2°C.
The carbon budget for 1.5˚C is nearly exhausted, equal to just three years of today’s emissions. Current global policies put us on course for around 2.4˚C of warming by 2100. We’re not doing enough to reduce emissions and avoid the worst of climate change. Urgent action is needed: to reduce emissions now and to reverse overshoot once we pass 1.5˚C.
Source: Global CCS Institute, IEA, Kazlou et al., 2024.
Grounding truth #3
We need to burn less and
store the rest.
Stabilising global temperatures requires both rapid emissions cuts and large-scale CO₂ storage, and we are falling behind on both. Both the IPCC and IEA project a need to capture billions of tonnes annually by mid-century, yet planned projects amount to only 0.05 Gt. Carbon storage cannot be delayed, but it must be deployed with strong guardrails that accelerate – not slow – the energy transition, while upholding environmental and justice principles.
Source: Forster et al., 2025, Carbon Majors Database.
Grounding truth #4
Fossil fuel producers should be held responsible.
Over half of all CO₂ emissions since 1850 come from a handful of fossil fuel majors. The principle is simple: those who cause climate change should pay for its clean-up. Yet today, the public bears most of the cost while producers face few obligations. These companies have the resources and expertise to deliver large-scale carbon clean-up, but they will not act without mandates. Supply-side policies that make carbon storage a condition of fossil fuel production can uphold the polluter pays principle and provide a predictable pathway to net zero.