The amount of greenhouse gases being emitted into Earth’s atmosphere has reached such a high level that it will take major changes around the world to mitigate the effects on climate change, experts say.

Greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide, which trap the sun’s heat, are the “most significant driver of observed climate change since the mid-20th century,” according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

To illustrate the pace of change, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s greenhouse gas index, which measures the impact of the gasses on climate, indicates it took approximately 240 years to go from…