Commit to change

USA. A virtuous circle. Rubbish dumped by these trucks into engineered landfills produces methane gas which is collected and turned into liquefied natural gas to power the vehicles. San Diego powers 100 refuse trucks with this gas and has made cumulative cost savings of up to US$15 million through a range of greenhouse gas reducing measures. ©Constantine Manos/Magnum Photos

South Pacific. The Marshall Islands are a series of coral atolls enclosing vast clear lagoons sometimes many miles across. The atolls once encircled volcanoes which have long since sunk back into the sea leaving these long narrow curving islands covered in coconut palms. There is usually less than 50 metres (165 feet) between the lagoon and the Pacific. ©Chris Steele-Perkins/Magnum Photos

South Pacific. Jalut is one of the idyllic palm-fringed atolls which make up the Marshall Islands. Here the toppled coconut palms show how sea level rise is nibbling away at the already tiny islands. The coconut palms' survival is essential because they hold together the soil and make up the major agricultural crop of the islands. ©Chris Steele-Perkins/Magnum Photos

South Africa. A woman from Hluleka gets on with her day knowing she can look forward to a continuous electricity supply from a combination of wind and solar power. Wind turbines are by far the cheapest method of providing power for isolated communities. ©Alex Webb/Magnum Photos

India. This child is drinking water from the rain-water harvesting project. Clean, plentiful water is the single most important element for survival. Two out of every three people in the world will be facing water shortages by 2025. ©Donovan Wylie/Magnum Photos

China. Tower blocks rise where small farms used to be on the edge of Chongqing. China already has 50 cities with more than one million people. Its urban population is forecast to double over the next 25 years to 600 million, increasing demands on food, transport and energy production. China is looking to renewable energy to minimise the impacts of increasing urbanisation and population growth on greenhouse gas emissions. ©Nikos Economopoulos/Magnum Photos

China. Farmers are painting the tree trunks to repel insects. Tree plantations are a government project to prevent desertification and sandstorms. There are fears that climate change could lead to a giant dust-bowl in the Yellow River region with devastating impacts on wheat production. ©Nikos Economopoulos/Magnum Photos

Tanzania. The volcanic crater at the summit of Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, as it has not been seen before in 11,000 years. The snow and glaciers which have crowned it in all that time are disappearing - potent evidence that climate change is already making a serious impact. ©Alex Majoli/Magnum Photos

Mexico City. Transport is the major source of emissions in Mexico City, generating 51 million tonnes of CO₂ in 2000. The city has air pollution levels well above World Health Organisation limits. In a city where hour long traffic jams are normal, two wheels are the best option, even with two children.
©Bruce Gilden/Magnum Photos

Japan. Fifteen skyscrapers, including the city hall, hotels, offices and commercial buildings, which total over 600 floors between them, get their heating and cooling from one of the world's largest district systems at Shinjuku in the new centre of Tokyo. Combining heat and power generation, such systems can be 30% to 40% more efficient than those producing heat and power separately. ©Harry Gruyaert/Magnum Photos

Greenland. The front of the Jakobshavn Glacier, which is receding and thinning at a dramatic pace. It provides new fishing grounds for the local people who have never seen open water here before. Similar glaciers are receding fast and thinning all over Greenland, losing about 50 cubic km (12 cubic miles) of ice annually. ©Ian Berry/Magnum Photos