Giving Compass' Take:

• Business Insider reports that ecologist Johan Rockström, who authored a recent global "hothouse" report, suggests ways that we can significantly cut emissions — if we find a way to distribute wealth on a massive scale.

• Collective willpower to reverse the effects of climate change (from agriculture practices to health investments) may be the only thing that will save our planet in the generations to come. How can billionaires be more active when it comes to stopping climate change?

• Here are some businesses that have committed to take action on climate change.

There's a lot of doom and gloom about the state of the planet.

Earlier this month, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report suggesting that by 2040, the world will be 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer than it was before we started burning fossil fuels like coal and gas for energy.

Other scientists have suggested the world could hit a tipping point that triggers a "hothouse" state, in which the Earth would shift from a self-cooling biosphere into a self-warming mode. That could make our planet 4, 5, or even 6 degrees Celsius warmer than it is today, triggering unprecedented natural disasters.

But scientists still harbor some hope.

This week, one of authors of that bleak "hothouse" report has co-authored a new one that models how the world and its people may fare in the coming decades. In brief, ecologist Johan Rockström, who directs the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Stockholm, thinks there might be a way to cut global emissions while eliminating poverty and hunger and keeping the world cool enough to sustain future generations.

Read the full article about why billionaires need to help fight climate change by Hilary Brueck at Business Insider.