This is the climate challenge we face: we need to go from putting 55 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases into the air each year to zero. And it all needs to happen by 2050 at the latest. How can we get there? This quick animated video explains. (Written by David Biello and voiced by Elise Hu)

Countdown is TED’s global initiative to accelerate solutions to the climate crisis. The goal: to build a better future by cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, in the race to a zero-carbon world. Get involved at https://countdown.ted.com/sign-up

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