25 euro – Global Heating

First the bad news: it's getting hotter. The good news is that by acting in an environmentally friendly way, each and every one of us can play a role in limiting the temperature increase. Global Heating, the 2023 edition of our bestselling Silver Niobium coin, is a timely reminder that we need to act before it is too late. The temperature increase caused by humans since 1850 has already exceeded the 1°C mark. Not that this is a new insight. Back in 2015, the Paris Agreement set the long-term goal of limiting the temperature increase to 1.5°C and this was reaffirmed at the UN Climate Change Conference in 2021. But the current measures for reducing greenhouse gas emissions do not go far enough for that goal to be achieved. It is now feared that a temperature increase of more than 3°C could occur by 2100, which would have catastrophic consequences for both humans and the natural world. If, by 2030, global CO2 emissions could be reduced by 45 per cent, we would be well on the way to preventing that increase. But time is running out and we are already starting to see the disastrous effects of global heating. Extreme weather events, melting glaciers and changes in climate patterns are becoming increasingly common. Reducing energy consumption and the sustainable use of natural resources are important steps in combating such developments. Every ton of greenhouse gases that we do not produce could help avert catastrophe.

Depicted inside the blue and gold niobium core of the coin’s obverse, a thermometer forms part of a clock that symbolises that time is running out. To its left is a globe on which it says +1.5°C. A globe also features in the centre of the coin’s reverse, which deals with the economic, ecological and social aspects of sustainability. To the right are the silhouettes of two human faces, in front of them a sea turtle is seen swimming. Due to environmental pollution and global warming, this species is threatened with extinction.