The climate clock stems from a project called the Climate Clock, which involves Concordia University and the David Suzuki Foundation, within the Future Earth and Climate Reality Project; it is installed at the Human Impact Lab, within Concordia University in Montreal. The project was launched in 2015.
The global climate clock displays in real-time the remaining time (“deadline”) to limit global warming to 1.5 °C, expressed in years, days, hours, and seconds. The “lifeline” section presents dynamic indicators of mitigation and sustainability, including: the percentage of global energy produced from renewable sources, the share of protected land and oceans (current and projected), the amount of fossil fuel subsidies to be eliminated, the capital divested from fossil fuels, the potential economic benefits of timely action, the extent of regenerative agriculture, the role of Indigenous peoples in protecting territories, and female representation in parliaments.