--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have 20 years [until 2026] to reduce…" description: "\"We have 20 years [until 2026] to reduce carbon emissions or climate change will become irreversible.\" — Hans Joachim Schellnhuber" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32f/hans-joachim-schellnhuber-4057_carbon_we-have-20-years-until-2026-to-reduce-ca_3029054.png" --- # We have 20 years \[until 2026\] to reduce carbon emissions… ![“We have 20 years [until 2026] to reduce carbon emissions or climate change will become irreversible.” quote by Hans Joachim Schellnhuber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32f/hans-joachim-schellnhuber-4057_carbon_we-have-20-years-until-2026-to-reduce-ca_3029054.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32f/hans-joachim-schellnhuber-4057_carbon_we-have-20-years-until-2026-to-reduce-ca_3029054.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32f/hans-joachim-schellnhuber-4057_carbon_we-have-20-years-until-2026-to-reduce-ca_3029054.png) > “We have 20 years \[until 2026\] to reduce carbon emissions or climate change will become irreversible.” [Hans Joachim Schellnhuber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We have two decades left to cut emissions before climate change becomes irreversible, urging urgent action. **In simple terms:** 20 years left to cut emissions or climate change irreversible irreversible. Key Takeaway Act now to reduce emissions. Themes environment urgency policy Mood urgent alarming Type activist informative When to use this quote - government policy - corporate sustainability - personal lifestyle changes - education campaigns Key Concepts climate science mitigation strategies Questions to Reflect On - What steps can you take to lower your carbon footprint? - How can societies accelerate emission reductions? A Different Perspective Political and economic barriers may delay progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Carbon emissions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon-emissions/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Climate change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate-change/) [Emissions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emissions/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Environmental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmental/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) ## Related quotes > [Is it 10 years, 20, 50 before we reach that tipping point where climate change becomes irreversible? Nobody can know. 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We will also serve as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elon-musk/the-overarching-goal-of-tesla-is-to-help-reduce-carbon-emissions-and/) [Elon Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elon-musk/) > [Trump is a very common-sense-oriented guy and basically, what he said is if we reduce carbon emissions, the air is going to get cleaner.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-scaramucci/trump-is-a-very-common-sense-oriented-guy-and-basically-what-he-said/) [Anthony Scaramucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-scaramucci/) > [We have received no single argument in favour of this document except political pressure. No link has been established between carbon dioxide emissions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrey-illarionov/we-have-received-no-single-argument-in-favour-of-this-document-except/) [Andrey Illarionov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrey-illarionov/) > [Every company that manufactures something is causing some damage either to the soil or water or air. Most companies treat these as externalities. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kotler/every-company-that-manufactures-something-is-causing-some-damage/) [Philip Kotler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kotler/) > [You'll reduce your carbon footprint by cutting back on meat just once a week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-rosenthal/you-ll-reduce-your-carbon-footprint-by-cutting-back-on-meat-just-once/) [Joshua Rosenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-rosenthal/) > [There is much work to do to protect forests from over-timbering and oceans and lakes from over-fishing. We need to encourage and reward companies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kotler/there-is-much-work-to-do-to-protect-forests-from-over-timbering-and/) [Philip Kotler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kotler/) > [While we reduce our own carbon footprint we will encourage the companies who truck our DVDs and newspapers, sell us paper, and provide an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/while-we-reduce-our-own-carbon-footprint-we-will-encourage-the/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) ## More by Hans Joachim Schellnhuber > [What is the difference between a 2°C world and a 4°C world? Human civilisation!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/what-is-the-difference-between-a-2-c-world-and-a-4-c-world-human/) [Hans Joachim Schellnhuber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/) > [When you imagine that if all these 9 billion people claim all these resources, then the earth will explode.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/when-you-imagine-that-if-all-these-9-billion-people-claim-all-these/) [Hans Joachim Schellnhuber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/) > [The bottom billion people don't contribute at all to climate change - maybe 1 percent of emissions, they could double or triple their emissions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/the-bottom-billion-people-don-t-contribute-at-all-to-climate-change/) [Hans Joachim Schellnhuber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/) > [Don't ask what global climate protection can do for your country; ask what your country can do for climate protection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/don-t-ask-what-global-climate-protection-can-do-for-your-country-ask/) [Hans Joachim Schellnhuber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/) > [Neither transitions nor transformations will be manageable without novel forms of global governance and markets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/neither-transitions-nor-transformations-will-be-manageable-without/) [Hans Joachim Schellnhuber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/) > [Either the Earth System would undergo major phase transitions as a result of unchecked human pressure on nature's capacities and resources or a "Great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/either-the-earth-system-would-undergo-major-phase-transitions-as-a/) [Hans Joachim Schellnhuber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/) > [The planetary machinery tends to be jumpy, this is to respond disproportionately to disruptions that come with the manmade greenhouse effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/the-planetary-machinery-tends-to-be-jumpy-this-is-to-respond/) [Hans Joachim Schellnhuber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/) > [In a sense the U.S. is climate illiterate. If you look at global polls about what the public knows about climate change even in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/in-a-sense-the-u-s-is-climate-illiterate-if-you-look-at-global-polls/) [Hans Joachim Schellnhuber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/) > [The first law of humanity is not to kill your children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/the-first-law-of-humanity-is-not-to-kill-your-children/) [Hans Joachim Schellnhuber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/) [Explore all 10 Hans Joachim Schellnhuber quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/) ## More Carbon quotes > [Windmills and solar cells are carbon-free sources of electricity. But they are costly. If you've been investing in those, give it up. That game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-fisher/windmills-and-solar-cells-are-carbon-free-sources-of-electricity-but/) [Kenneth Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-fisher/) > [every being is unique.god neva creates carbon copies,he alys creates originals.he is truly a creator.he neva repeats.but man goes on living in imitation.we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-being-is-unique-god-neva-creates-carbon-copies-he-alys-creates/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The brightest and most valuable diamond started life as just a lump of carbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dilger/the-brightest-and-most-valuable-diamond-started-life-as-just-a-lump/) Peter Dilger > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [I love being a carbon molecule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-trussell/i-love-being-a-carbon-molecule/) [Duncan Trussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-trussell/) > [Coal is the moral choice, particularly for the developing world... The model for the world right now should be Australia. Australia gets it. Scientifically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-morano/coal-is-the-moral-choice-particularly-for-the-developing-world-the/) Marc Morano > [Each year we pump at least six billion tons of heat-trapping carbon into the innermost layer of our atmosphere, whose outer extent is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-gelbspan/each-year-we-pump-at-least-six-billion-tons-of-heat-trapping-carbon/) [Ross Gelbspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-gelbspan/) > [If every country committed to spending 0.05 per cent of GDP on researching non-carbon-emitting energy technologies, that would cost $25 billion a year, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/if-every-country-committed-to-spending-0-05-per-cent-of-gdp-on/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [We're full of electricity, and the walls and floor of a building contain carbon - the same makeup as a video tape - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-james/we-re-full-of-electricity-and-the-walls-and-floor-of-a-building/) [Peter James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-james/) > [Whether carbon dioxide is quite the environmental villain that some people make it out to be is not yet proven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/whether-carbon-dioxide-is-quite-the-environmental-villain-that-some/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [“Steven Apfelbaum, a restoration ecologist in Wisconsin, says that every 1 percent increase in soil carbon holds an additional sixty thousand gallons of water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-d-schwartz/steven-apfelbaum-a-restoration-ecologist-in-wisconsin-says-that-every/) [Judith D. Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-d-schwartz/) > [I want to break up the Wall Street banks. Hillary Clinton doesn't. I want to raise the minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-want-to-break-up-the-wall-street-banks-hillary-clinton-doesn-t-i/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I also think that if you want to put a price on carbon, why not just do it with a simple tax? Why not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/i-also-think-that-if-you-want-to-put-a-price-on-carbon-why-not-just/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [If you want to make a substantial reduction in your carbon footprint, doing it on your own is virtually impossible, especially if you're driving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-arnold/if-you-want-to-make-a-substantial-reduction-in-your-carbon-footprint/) [Tom Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-arnold/) > [Jesus was not born on December 25th. There's carbon evidence of it. That freaks people out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-skiba/jesus-was-not-born-on-december-25th-there-s-carbon-evidence-of-it/) [Matt Skiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-skiba/) Browse all 812 Carbon quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We have 20 years [until 2026] to reduce carbon emissions or climate change will become irreversible.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hans Joachim Schellnhuber" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/we-have-20-years-until-2026-to-reduce-carbon-emissions-or-climate/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Carbon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/we-have-20-years-until-2026-to-reduce-carbon-emissions-or-climate/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32f/hans-joachim-schellnhuber-4057_carbon_we-have-20-years-until-2026-to-reduce-ca_3029054.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32f/hans-joachim-schellnhuber-4057_carbon_we-have-20-years-until-2026-to-reduce-ca_3029054.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32f/hans-joachim-schellnhuber-4057_carbon_we-have-20-years-until-2026-to-reduce-ca_3029054.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We have 20 years [until 2026] to reduce carbon emissions or climate change will become irreversible.” — Hans Joachim Schellnhuber", "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": "Hans Joachim Schellnhuber", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We have 20 years [until 2026]...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/we-have-20-years-until-2026-to-reduce-carbon-emissions-or-climate/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-joachim-schellnhuber/we-have-20-years-until-2026-to-reduce-carbon-emissions-or-climate/#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 } } ] } ```