101 Best Climate Change Quotes That Call for Action

Climate change is undoubtedly the most pressing issue of our time that requires immediate attention from all of us. This atmospheric phenomenon is not only affecting our beloved Planet Earth, but is also plaguing the people, animals, and plants who call it home. To highlight the ongoing outcomes of global warming, many thought-provoking climate change quotes have been penned down by environmental enthusiasts, activists, scientists, politicians, and famous personalities as an urgent call to action.

These inspiring quotes about climate change challenge us to think deeply about the impact of our activities on the environment. They encourage us to work together to create a sustainable future where everybody has access to clean energy, air water, and food. And with IPCC’s 2021 report issuing a Code Red for Humanity, there has never been a more crucial time to act than now. In this article, we have compiled some of the most powerful climate change quotes to motivate you to take action towards a better tomorrow. Eco-warriors, are you ready?

101 Thought Provoking Quotes on Climate Change

1. There is no Planet B. – Stephen Hawking
2. Climate change is like gravity: you can deny it all you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s real. – Katherine Hayhoe
3. We are not separate from the environment. We are a part of it. – David Suzuki
4. The challenge lies in the fact that the planet has limited time. Be it climate change or nuclear fallout, there is very little time. You have to pick your cause. – Anne Waldman
5. You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make. – Jane Goodall
6. I want you to act as if the house is on fire, because it is. – Greta Thunberg
7. Global warming must be seen as an economic and security threat. – Kofi Annan
8. Climate change is a shared crisis – one that transcends politics and borders and must be fought collectively, justly and transparently. – Barry Gardiner
9. Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. – Lao Tzu
10. Climate change is a terrible problem, and it absolutely needs to be solved. It deserves to be a huge priority. – Bill Gates
11. Is it 10 years, 20, 50 before we reach that tipping point where climate change becomes irreversible? Nobody can know. There’s clearly a probability distribution. We need to ensure this planet, and we need to do it quickly. – Vinod Khosla
12. We really need to kick the carbon habit and stop making our energy from burning things. Climate change is also really important. You can wreck one rainforest then move, drain one area of resources and move on to another, but climate change is global. – David Attenborough
13. The earth has a fever, and the fever is rising. And we are the virus. – Al Gore
14. We must commit to a positive programme of ocean recovery to combat the effects of climate breakdown, and boost our oceans’ capacity to tackle climate change. – Barry Gardiner
15. Sustainability is a form of beauty. – Khalid Malik
16. Although the magnitude of climate change may make individuals feel helpless, individual action is critical for meaningful change. – Mia Armstrong
17. We are the bystanders who must choose to intervene or be defined by our failure. – Lawrence Torcello
18. Anybody who doesn’t see the impact of climate change is really, and I would say, myopic. They don’t see the reality. It’s so evident that we are destroying Mother Earth. This is not the problem of one country or a few countries: it is the problem of mankind. We need to work together to stop this. Otherwise, our future generations will simply disappear. – Juan Manuel Santos
19. Preservation of our environment is not a liberal or conservative challenge, it’s common sense. -Ronald Reagan
20. There is a sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed. – Mahatma Gandhi
21. The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it. – Robert Swan
22. If you are thinking one year ahead, sow seed. If you are thinking ten years ahead, plant a tree. If you are thinking 100 years ahead, educate the people. – Chinese Proverb
23. The environment is where we all meet; where all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share. – Lady Bird Johnson
24. Climate change is sometimes misunderstood as being about changes in the weather. In reality, it is about changes in our very way of life. – Paul Polman
25. We don’t have to sacrifice a strong economy for a healthy environment. – Dennis Weaver

26. The Earth is a fine place and worth fighting for. – Ernest Hemingway
27. You must be the change you wish to see in the world. – Mahatma Gandhi
28. The planet is not dying, it is being killed. And those who are killing it have names and addresses. – Utah Phillips
29. When the last tree is cut, the last fish is caught, and the last river is polluted; when to breathe the air is sickening, you will realize, too late, that wealth is not in bank accounts and that you can’t eat money. – Alanis Obomsawim
30. The story of humankind and our relationship to the earth may be seen as a continuing adventure or a tragedy shrouded in mystery. The choice is ours. -Al Gore
31. I only feel angry when I see waste. When I see people throwing away things we could use. – Mother Teresa
32. Twenty-five years ago people could be excused for not knowing much, or doing much, about climate change. Today we have no excuse. No more can it be dismissed as science fiction; we are already feeling the effects. – Desmond Tutu
33. What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another. – Chris Maser
34. This is not a partisan debate; it is a human one. Clean air and water, and a livable climate are inalienable human rights. And solving this crisis is not a question of politics. It is our moral obligation. – Leonardo DiCaprio
35. The environment and the economy are really both two sides of the same coin. If we cannot sustain the environment, we cannot sustain ourselves. – Wangari Maathai
36. We are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change, and the last generation that can do something about it. – Barack Obama
37. The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. – Chinese Proverb
38. The Earth is what we all have in common. – Wendell Berry
39. In nature, nothing exists alone. – Rachel Carson
40. Sustainability is no longer about doing less harm. It’s about doing more good. – Jochen Zeitz
41. We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. – Native American Proverb
42. The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion. – Paulo Coelho
43. We are on earth to take care of life. We are on earth to take care of each other. – Xiye Bastida
44. The future belongs to those who understand that doing more with less is compassionate, prosperous, and enduring, and thus more intelligent, even competitive. – Paul Hawken
45. The only way forward, if we are going to improve the quality of the environment, is to get everybody involved. – Richard Rogers.
46. Every time you spend money, you’re casting a vote for the kind of world you want. – Anna Lappé
47. Modern society will find no solution to the ecological problem unless it takes a serious look at its lifestyles. – Pope John Paul II
48. A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. – Greek Proverb
49. Industrialised countries must take the responsibility of helping poorer countries in the climate change action plan. – Angela Merkel
50. The solution to pollution is dilution is a lie. The solution to pollution is to stop polluting. – Donnachadh McCarthy

51. The earth is what we all have in common, and it is our responsibility to preserve it for future generations. – Dalai Lama
52. Participation – that’s what’s gonna save the human race. – Pete Seeger
53. Saving our planet, lifting people out of poverty, advancing economic growth… these are one and the same fight. We must connect the dots between climate change, water scarcity, energy shortages, global health, food security, and women’s empowerment. Solutions to one problem must be solutions for all. – Ban Ki-Moon
54. We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. – Wendell Berry
55. Solar power is going to be absolutely essential to meeting growing energy demands while staving off climate change. – Ramez Naam
56. Climate change demands a collective response. We can’t expect other countries to act if we don’t. – Caroline Lucas
57. While the problem can sometimes seem overwhelming, we can turn things around — but we must move beyond climate talk to climate action. – Ted Turner
58. We need to recognize that the situation is urgent. We must act quickly, boldly, and decisively. – Al Gore
59. The time is long overdue for us to take responsibility for our actions and start making changes in our daily lives. – Leonardo Di Caprio
60. If you really think that the environment is less important than the economy, try holding your breath while you count your money. – Guy McPherson
61. We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. – Albert Einstein
62. We are in danger of destroying ourselves by our greed and stupidity. We cannot remain looking inwards at ourselves on a small and increasingly polluted and overcrowded planet. – Stephen Hawking
63. As custodians of the planet it is our responsibility to deal with all species with kindness, love and compassion. That these animals suffer through human cruelty is beyond understanding. Please help stop this madness.– Richard Gere
64. The climate crisis is not just an environmental issue. It’s a human rights issue, a social justice issue, and a political issue. – Mary Robinson
65. It’s not about perfect. It’s about effort. And when you bring that effort every single day, that’s where transformation happens. That’s how change occurs. – Jillian Michaels
66. If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. – African Proverb
67. The power of one, if fearless and focused, is formidable, but the power of many working together is better. – Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
68. The environment is everything that isn’t me. – Albert Einstein
69. I believe climate change is real and that we can save our planet while creating millions of good-paying clean energy jobs. – Hillary Clinton
70. The planet does not need more successful people. The planet desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of all kinds. – Dalai Lama
71. The climate crisis is a problem that we can solve if we come together and take action. – Greta Thunberg
72. Sustainability is about living in harmony with each other and with the environment. – Ban Ki-Moon
73. We can’t afford to wait for the perfect solution. We have to start somewhere, and we have to start now. – Richard Branson
74. We can’t take climate change and put it on the back burner. If we don’t address climate change now, we won’t be around as humans. – Conrad Anker
75. The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it. – Robert Swan

76. The beauty of the natural world lies in the details. – Natalie Angier
77. We can’t keep our promise to the next generation to build an economy fit for the future, unless we ensure our planet has a future.” – Philip Hammond
78. We are the custodians of life’s meaning. – Stephen Jay Gould
79. Climate change isn’t something people get to choose to believe or not: it’s happening. – Matt Gaetz
80. We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand. – Randy Pausch
81. In the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught. – Baba Dioum
82. We have to wake up to the fierce urgency of the now. – Jim Yong Kim
83. With so much evidence of depleting natural resources, toxic waste, climate change, irreparable harm to our food chain, and rapidly increasing instances of natural disasters, why do we keep perpetuating the problem? Why do we continue marching at the same alarming beat? – Yehuda Berg
84. On climate change, we often don’t fully appreciate that it is a problem. We think it is a problem waiting to happen. – Kofi Annan
85. Human-induced climate change is a scientific reality, and its effective control is a moral imperative for humanity. – Betsy Hodges
86. Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. – Albert Einstein
87. Ignoring climate change will be the most costly of all possible choices, for us and our children. – Peter Ewins
88. Climate change is a matter of great peril but also one of great promise. We can pioneer the industries of the future, create millions of good-paying jobs, and build the clean energy economy of the future. – Jay Inslee
89. People of conscience need to break their ties with corporations financing the injustice of climate change. – Desmond Tutu
90. The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it. – Robert Swan
91. The challenge of pollution and global warming is no longer the science, or the rate of innovation, but the rate of implementation: We have the clean solutions; now let’s bundle them and install them. – Jens Martin Skibsted
92. We simply must do everything we can in our power to slow down global warming before it is too late… The science is clear. The global warming debate is over. – Arnold Schwarzenegger
93. Everybody has the right to development, which means everybody has the right to clean energy. – Sunita Narain
94. The Earth should not be a worse place after my life than it was when I was born here. – Rob Stewart
95. Let’s double down on solar energy, let’s be more energy-efficient, let’s weatherize our homes. We can build a better, healthier economy based on good-paying, clean energy jobs. – Ian Somerhalder
96. The awareness of climate change means we, in every profession we are involved, are increasingly obligated to understand the climate risk and put whatever we are working on as part of the solution. – Kotchakorn Voraakhom
97. If we want a future that is liveable and healthy for everyone, it has to be sustainable, it has to protect the people, it has to protect the planet. – Venessa Nakate
98. We are the first generation to feel the sting of climate change, and we are the last generation that can do something about it. – Jay Inslee
99. We have a choice to use the gift of our lives to make a difference. It’s up to us to decide what kind of difference we’re going to make. – Jane Goodall
100. We need to work together to create a sustainable future for all. – Angela Merkel
101. We have a single mission: to protect and hand on the planet to the next generation. – François Hollande

The Power of Words

Words are powerful! And when it comes to global climate change, the impact of carefully crafted quotes can be profound, as they influence us to build a clean energy future by achieving sustainable development goals. Here are some ways that climate change quotes can influence our thinking and encourage us to make positive changes in our daily lives:

Raise Awareness: Quotes on climate change from well-known activists and leaders can help raise awareness concerning the severity and urgency of the global warming catastrophe. They act as a wake-up call for individuals to reduce their carbon footprint by making lifestyle shifts and avoiding activities that have a direct impact on climate change public health, wildlife, and the likes.

Sparks Emotion: Many climate change quotes are emotionally charged to help us connect with the issues on a personal level. They can motivate us to take action out of a sense of responsibility for the planet and future generations. After all, we all have a role to play in mitigating the effects of climate change, no matter how small.

Encourages Collaboration: There has to be a collective effort to effectively address climate change. Quotes that emphasize the importance of working together can inspire us to join forces with others in our community and around the world. Climate change quotes can also help create a sense of community among individuals who are passionate about working towards global warming. They can serve as a battle cry for humankind to come together and work towards the fulfillment of a common purpose.

Provides Hope: While climate change can seem like an insurmountable problem, influential quotes can provide hope and remind us that change is still possible. Some quotes about climate change even offer practical solutions for minimizing our environmental impact. They can encourage us to lead simpler lives by reducing our energy consumption, going waste-free, or choosing eco-friendly transportation options, thereby achieving sustainable development goals.

To Conclude…

Statistics revealing the adverse effects of global climate change are truly intimidating. And while we all look up to government bodies and major corporations to take responsibility, the truth is, even our participation matters, no matter how trivial they might feel. It’s the simple yet mindful changes in our daily habits that can significantly help in restoring our planet. Although climate change quotes don’t exactly fix what’s ruined, they inspire us to take action to create a more sustainable clean energy future. So eco-warriors, buckle up! It’s time to become guardians of Mother Earth!