Global Heating Emergency Conference by HPAC, October 15 and 16, 2025
Global Online Conference • October 15 – 16, 2025 (https://www.preventing2degrees.org) Description: 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. 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:
1) Why is global heating now accelerating so much faster than before?
2) What are the consequences to people and the planet if we fail to act immediately?
3) How can we stop temperatures from rising and avert catastrophic heating: What’s the plan?
4) 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, or just download a three-page event summary.
Program: (see: https://www.preventing2degrees.org/pr…)
0:00 Day 1: The Global Heating Emergency 05:14 Conference overview and outcomes expected | Dr. Dennis Garrity
08:30 Session 1: The Accelerated Global Heating Emergency 08:38 How much is global heating accelerating? | Dr. Leon Simons
18:54 Why is global heating accelerating? | Dr. James Hansen
30:53 We passed the 1.5°C climate threshold: We must now explore extreme options | Sir David King
42:23 The climate emergency is a race we are losing, but it is a race we can win | Mr. Antonio Guterres
49:43 Panel Discussion with Dr. Phoebe Barnard, Dr. Doris Capistrano, Mr. Matt Reddy, and Mr. Ricken Patel
01:43:15 Session 2: What Happens If We Fail to Avert 2°C?
01:43:53 The risks of triggering multiple feedbacks and tipping points | Dr. Tim Lenton
01:57:19 What are the global impacts and levels of suffering expected at 2°C? | David Spratt
02:09:17 Panel Discussion with Dr. Portia Adade Williams, Dr. Delia Catacutan, Dr. Devashree Nayak, and Mr. James Donovan
02:50:28 Day 2: What’s the plan?
02:52:59 Day 1 Recap | Dr. Dennis Garrity
02:55:59 Session 3: How Do We Avert 2°C by 2040? What’s The Plan?
02:56:33 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
03:07:11 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
03:23:37 A plausible pathway to deployment | Mr. Wake Smith
03:33:59 Deploying Marine Cloud Brightening | Prof. Hugh Hunt
03:44:35 Deploying other near-term cooling methods | Dr. Ron Baiman
03:56:17 Panel Discussion with Ms. Trisha Patel, Ms. Jyoti Singh, Mr. Andy Parker, and Mr. Brian von Herzen
04:51:20 Session 4: Developing and Deploying a New Climate Plan to Avert 2°C by 2040
04:51:34 Building a coalition of climate-vulnerable countries | Mr. Pascal Lamy
05:08:22 Why we need a new climate plan | Dr. Mike MacCracken
5:29:28 How should society plan for the growing threat of catastrophic climate tipping points and system risks? Building a coalition for a nonlinear climate | Mr. Joshua Elliott
05:50:03 Panel Discussion with Mr. Paul Gambill and Mr. Sasha Post
06:25:12 Next Steps and Closing Remarks | Dr. Dennis Garrity
