Climate change - Averting catastrophe | DW Documentary

In the last 30 years, CO2 emissions have increased by 60 percent worldwide. The most pressing problem facing our civilization is global warming. What solutions could there be? This documentary accompanies activists in their efforts to combat climate change.

According to scientists, if by the year 2100 the global temperature has risen more than 1.5 degrees Celsius on levels recorded in the year 1850, the consequences could be devastating for people and the environment. But will we manage to achieve this ambitious goal? Around the world, politicians, companies, laboratories and universities are struggling to find solutions.

The film team visits climate rescuers in Sudan, Indonesia and Europe. Their inventive spirit cools buildings, connects countries with green electricity lines or sucks carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Their work helps determine the living conditions of generations to come.

Every time the women of Shagra plant an acacia seedling in the sand of Darfur, it is an occasion of great joy in the Sudanese village. The tree will drive its roots 100 meters into the ground and be better able to withstand the droughts in the Sahel than most other plants. It will secrete gum sap when women scratch the bark after a few years. The sale of gum arabic will alleviate poverty in the village.

65,000 acacias are already growing in Darfur: a blessing for the bitterly poor region, as well as a carbon dioxide reservoir that can help limit global warming.