Global Online Conference • October 15 – 16, 2025
The Global
Heating Emergency
Preventing 2°C by 2040: What’s the Plan?
Global Online Conference • October 15 – 16, 2025
In Paris in 2015, 195 countries committed to stopping global warming. But greenhouse gas emissions have continued to relentlessly increase.
The latest science shows that instead of slowing down, temperatures are now rising at twice the rate of previous decades. At this pace, the Paris Accord’s critical red line of 2°C is likely to be breached by 2037—just 12 years from now.
Watch on Youtube to see timestamped chapters.
The Healthy Planet Action Coalition (HPAC) brought together scientists, policymakers, and concerned citizens for a global online conference to build awareness about why temperatures are accelerating, and what this means for humanity. We sought to create momentum for a more comprehensive global action plan to address the new realities that we are facing before it’s too late.
We are nearly out of time to avert 2°C. But, there are tools in the toolbox that can buy more time to successfully stop global heating in the short term, while we strive to bring down emissions in the medium to long term.
Over two days, we hosted five hours of discussion that will address:
Why is global heating now accelerating so much faster than before?
What are the consequences to people and the planet if we fail to act immediately?
How can we stop temperatures from rising and avert catastrophic heating: What’s the plan?
What immediate, practical steps can we take to develop and implement a new, integrated climate plan for humanity?
This conference was open to all: the public, scientists, decision-makers—anyone who cares about the future of life on Earth.
Watch the full conference on Youtube below, or just download a three-page event summary.
Program
The program started at 8:30 am Eastern Daylight Time (US) or:
5:30 am Pacific Time (US)
1.30 pm British Summer Time (UK)
2.30 pm Central European Time (Paris, Rome, Madrid)
3.30 pm East Africa Time (Nairobi, Kampala, Dar es Salaam)
8.30 pm Singapore/Philippines Standard Time
11.30 pm Australian Daylight Time (Canberra)
Each day’s program was at least 3 hours.
DAY 1: October 15, 2025 (8.30 am EDT US / 8.30 pm Singapore)
8:30 - Welcome from the event host
Ms. Aria McKenna, Co-Chair, Media & Communications Team, HPAC
Introduction
8:33 - Conference overview and outcomes expected
Dr. Dennis Garrity, Chair, HPAC
Session 1: The Accelerated Global Heating Emergency
8:42 - How much is global heating accelerating?
Dr. Leon Simons, Climate and Energy Researcher and Communicator
8:55 - Why is global heating accelerating?
Dr. James Hansen, Climatologist and Adjunct Professor at Columbia University's Earth Institute
9:10 - We passed the 1.5°C climate threshold: We must now explore extreme options
Sir David King, Founder and Chair of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group
9:25 - The climate emergency is a race we are losing, but it is a race we can win
Mr. Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General (invited)
9:35 - Moderated Panel Discussion
Dr. Phoebe Barnard
Dr. Doris Capistrano
Mr. Matt Reddy
Mr. Ricken Patel
Q&A
Session 2: What Happens If We Fail to Avert 2°C?
10:10 - The risks of triggering multiple feedbacks and tipping points
Dr. Tim Lenton, Professor of Climate Change and Earth System Science at the University of Exeter
10:20 - What are the global impacts and levels of suffering expected at 2°C?
David Spratt, Research Director for the Breakthrough National Centre for Climate Restoration
10:35 - Moderated panel discussion
Dr. Portia Adade Williams
Dr. Delia Catacutan
Dr. Devashree Nayak
Mr. James Donovan
Q&A
11:15 - End of Day 1
DAY 2: October 16, 2025 (8.30 am EDT US / 8.30 pm Singapore)
Session 3: How Do We Avert 2°C by 2040? What’s The Plan?
8:30 - Quick recap of previous day
8:35 - How much emissions reduction and greenhouse gas removals can be expected by 2040?
What effect would this have on averting 2°C?
Mr. Bruce Parker
8:50 - How much albedo enhancement can be expected by 2040? What effect would that have on averting 2°C?
Deploying Stratospheric Aerosol Injection
Dr. Doug MacMartin, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University
9:10 - A plausible pathway to deployment
Mr. Wake Smith, Climate Researcher, Author, and Adjunct Professor at Yale and Harvard
9:25 - Deploying Marine Cloud Brightening
Prof. Hugh Hunt, Professor of Engineering, University of Cambridge
9:40 - Deploying other near-term cooling methods
Dr. Ron Baiman, HPAC
9:55 - Moderated panel discussion
Trisha Patel
Jyoti Singh
Andy Parker
Brian von Herzen
Q&A
Session 4: Developing and Deploying a New Climate Plan to Avert 2°C by 2040
10:35 - Building a coalition of climate-vulnerable countries
Mr. Pascal Lamy, Chair, Overshoot Commission
10:45 - Why we need a new climate plan
Dr. Mike MacCracken, Chief Scientist for Climate Change Programs at the Climate Institute
11:00 - How should society plan for the growing threat of catastrophic climate tipping points and system risks? Building a coalition for a nonlinear climate
Joshua Elliott, Climate Emergencies Forum
11:10 - Moderated panel discussion
Paul Gambill
Sasha Post
11:30 - Next Steps
11:40 - Summary and Closing Remarks