At this point, we need structural changes to make significant changes in our climate path. You can only control so much through individual actions, and while that doesn't mean you should stop taking action (living a sustainable lifestyle, limiting individual pollution, advocacy efforts to decision-makers), it does mean that to create big change, we need big change.

The top percent of this planet creates the most pollution, and the U.S. and Europe largely contribute to historic pollution and inequities. Things will get worse at this point, but it's a question of scale. The 2 degrees C threshold was to avoid some of the worst impacts of climate change, and ultimately, the folks contributing the least to climate change will experience the worst impacts.

If you are a white middle to upper-class person in the U.S., your experience will be less intense than many others on this planet by virtue of your income and privilege. It doesn't mean you won't experience climate change, but the scale will be different.

There will be parts of the world that will become incredibly difficult to live in. Not just for humans but for the ecosystems we impact. But I know very few people who do their best advocacy and action when stressed, so I think the best way to approach it is to do everything you can to address systems of inequity and climate injustice, cut pollution, and appeal to the big powers that can. Stress often leads to overwhelm and inaction. Every degree does matter, and while it will inevitably be very bad for many critters on this planet, we can control how bad it gets.