The world is struggling to reduce climate change. The rise in greenhouse gas emissions from industry and growing populations has caused global temperatures to increase rapidly, surpassing levels seen before the Industrial Revolution by 1.3°C in 2016. The recent UN Paris agreement is not enough to stop this trend, as it just slows the emission growth. To curb the impacts, we need to urgently inform leaders and the public about the severity of the situation, start serious adaptation efforts, speed up the development of affordable low-carbon technologies, and commit to drastically cutting global emissions. A global agreement to put a price on carbon could help us reach this goal.