--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's one issue that will define the…" description: "\"There's one issue that will define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other, and that is the urgent and growing threat of a changi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf9/barack-obama-17_century_there-s-one-issue-that-will-define-the-c_1024869.jpg" --- # There's one issue that will define the contours of this… ![“There's one issue that will define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other, and that is the urgent and growing threat of a changing climate.” quote by Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf9/barack-obama-17_century_there-s-one-issue-that-will-define-the-c_1024869.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf9/barack-obama-17_century_there-s-one-issue-that-will-define-the-c_1024869.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf9/barack-obama-17_century_there-s-one-issue-that-will-define-the-c_1024869.jpg) > “There's one issue that will define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other, and that is the urgent and growing threat of a changing climate.” [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The climate crisis will dominate this century, demanding urgent action to mitigate and adapt. **In simple terms:** Climate change is the defining challenge of our time. Key Takeaway Prioritize climate solutions now. Themes environment policy future urgency Mood concerned determined hopeful Type political environmental When to use this quote - government policy - business strategy - community activism - education curricula Key Concepts sustainability global risk political leadership Questions to Reflect On - How can individuals influence climate policy? - What trade‑offs are necessary for rapid decarbonization? A Different Perspective Political realities can delay decisive action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century/) [Changing Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changing-climate-1161027/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Contours Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contours-century-2306983/) [Dramatically Urgent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dramatically-urgent-2306981/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Growing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing/) [Growing Threat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-threat-1029532/) [Issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/issues/) [Threat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/threat/) [Threat Changing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/threat-changing-2306982/) [Urgent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/urgent/) ## Related quotes > [Isil poses a threat to the people of Iraq and Syria, and the broader Middle East - including American citizens, personnel and facilities. 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Sacred Scripture hands us the image of Cain who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/there-is-a-growing-threat-to-the-environment-to-the-vegetation/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [It's very clear that global climate change is occurring on earth, but it's also been very clear that that has always happened on earth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-hammel/it-s-very-clear-that-global-climate-change-is-occurring-on-earth-but/) [Heidi Hammel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-hammel/) > [It is the fashion to talk of our changing climate and bewail the hot summers and hard winters of tradition, but how seldom we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flora-thompson/it-is-the-fashion-to-talk-of-our-changing-climate-and-bewail-the-hot/) [Flora Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flora-thompson/) > [“The weather, which we had learned and predicted for centuries, had become uggianaqtuq—a Nunavut term for behaving unexpectedly, or in an unfamiliar way. Our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-watt-cloutier/the-weather-which-we-had-learned-and-predicted-for-centuries-had/) [Sheila Watt-Cloutier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-watt-cloutier/) > [The changing climate is a threat to human rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-robinson/the-changing-climate-is-a-threat-to-human-rights/) [Mary Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-robinson/) > [Every week in the Senate, I give a speech telling my colleagues it is time to wake up to the reality of a changing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/every-week-in-the-senate-i-give-a-speech-telling-my-colleagues-it-is/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [It is our responsibility to help wildlife adapt to a changing climate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-advani/it-is-our-responsibility-to-help-wildlife-adapt-to-a-changing-climate/) [Nikhil Advani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-advani/) > [“The impact on our health barely rates any media coverage, even though that’s the part of a changing climate that will hit us the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-marsa/the-impact-on-our-health-barely-rates-any-media-coverage-even-though/) [Linda Marsa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-marsa/) > [As each tree falls so does the earth's ability to heal itself and to adapt to the effects of our changing climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-benn/as-each-tree-falls-so-does-the-earth-s-ability-to-heal-itself-and-to/) [Hilary Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-benn/) > [By speeding the transition to cleaner energy, we can improve the lives of billions of people, while also reducing the risks we face from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bloomberg/by-speeding-the-transition-to-cleaner-energy-we-can-improve-the-lives/) [Michael Bloomberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bloomberg/) ## More by Barack Obama > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The peaceful transition of power is one of the hallmarks of our democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-peaceful-transition-of-power-is-one-of-the-hallmarks-of-our/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [As opposed to getting into arguments about, well, these folks have been treated fairly so now we're going to be doing things that, very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/as-opposed-to-getting-into-arguments-about-well-these-folks-have-been/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Donald Trump is temperamentally unfit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/donald-trump-is-temperamentally-unfit/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [What we've said to the girls is: 'If you guys ever decide that you're going to get a tattoo, then mommy and me will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/what-we-ve-said-to-the-girls-is-if-you-guys-ever-decide-that-you-re/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Nobody is listening to your telephone calls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/nobody-is-listening-to-your-telephone-calls/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [All of us take offense to anyone who reaps the rewards of living in America without taking on the responsibilities of living in America.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/all-of-us-take-offense-to-anyone-who-reaps-the-rewards-of-living-in/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The world is complicated and full of grays, but there's still truth there to be found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-world-is-complicated-and-full-of-grays-but-there-s-still-truth/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [ That is another theme in the book \[Dreams from My Father\]. How do we exercise more empathy in our public discourse? How do we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/that-is-another-theme-in-the-book-dreams-from-my-father-how-do-we/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I can say across Europe that many principles that have been taken for granted here around free speech, and around civil liberties and an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-can-say-across-europe-that-many-principles-that-have-been-taken-for/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [So Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-americans-understand-the-costs-of-war-yet-as-a-country-we-will/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I want to thank the Greek people publicly for their humanitarian response to the crisis of so many migrants and refugees seeking safety in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-want-to-thank-the-greek-people-publicly-for-their-humanitarian/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [We had a farewell dinner for some of my senior staff, and generally everybody likes to talk about how cool I was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/we-had-a-farewell-dinner-for-some-of-my-senior-staff-and-generally/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [ It's good to get fresh legs in \[the White house\]. I think that it refreshes our democracy. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/it-s-good-to-get-fresh-legs-in-the-white-house-i-think-that-it/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Believe it or not, entertainment is part of our American diplomacy, it is part of what makes us exceptional, part of what makes us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/believe-it-or-not-entertainment-is-part-of-our-american-diplomacy-it/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) [Explore all 3,624 Barack Obama quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## More Century quotes > [I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-always-that-i-am-an-outsider-a-stranger-in-this-century-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The poetry from the eighteenth century was prose; the prose from the seventeenth century was poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/the-poetry-from-the-eighteenth-century-was-prose-the-prose-from-the/) [David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. It might be two seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/talented-people-can-predict-with-great-accuracy-what-s-about-to/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [At no time in the past century has public distrust of the government been so broadly distributed across the political spectrum, as it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-zimmermann/at-no-time-in-the-past-century-has-public-distrust-of-the-government/) [Phil Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-zimmermann/) > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [The young people today are the 21st century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/the-young-people-today-are-the-21st-century/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) > [The wisdom of our actions in the first three years of peace will determine the course of world history for half a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-wallace/the-wisdom-of-our-actions-in-the-first-three-years-of-peace-will/) [Henry A. Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-wallace/) > [For me, the melancholy of the late XXth Century is walking late at night by the Mont Blanc pen store and seeing these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/for-me-the-melancholy-of-the-late-xxth-century-is-walking-late-at/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/in-a-general-way-the-literature-of-the-twentieth-century-is/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Consequently, citizen legislators, rotating back to their communities after a short period of public service—considered an indispensable and routine characteristic and design of representative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/consequently-citizen-legislators-rotating-back-to-their-communities/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 5,406 Century quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There's one issue that will define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other, and that is the urgent and growing threat of a changing climate.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barack Obama" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/there-s-one-issue-that-will-define-the-contours-of-this-century-more/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Century" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/there-s-one-issue-that-will-define-the-contours-of-this-century-more/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf9/barack-obama-17_century_there-s-one-issue-that-will-define-the-c_1024869.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf9/barack-obama-17_century_there-s-one-issue-that-will-define-the-c_1024869.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf9/barack-obama-17_century_there-s-one-issue-that-will-define-the-c_1024869.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There's one issue that will define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other, and that…” — Barack Obama", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Barack Obama", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There's one issue that will define...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/there-s-one-issue-that-will-define-the-contours-of-this-century-more/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/there-s-one-issue-that-will-define-the-contours-of-this-century-more/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```