Last month, the "Doomsday Clock" was moved up to 89 seconds, the closest the world has ever been to total annihilation. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, based at the University of Chicago, uses the clock as a metaphor to show how close the planet is to reaching human extinction.

Enormous attention is paid to how we should tackle climate change. Gigantic amounts are being spent on the transition to green energy. Carbon taxes keep rising. We are all being ushered towards buying electric cars,

In the mid- 80s, as the newly appointed chair of Barry Jones’s Commission for the Future (an organisation that brought together scientists, pollies and the public in the hope of better long-term policies),

The $18,000 piece features a countdown clock tracking the days, hours, and minutes until 2030 — a pivotal year for climate action in Australia, marked by key national and international targets.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists made the annual announcement — which rates how close humanity is from ending — citing threats that include climate change, proliferation of nuclear weapons, instability in the Middle East, the threat of pandemics and incorporation of artificial intelligence in military operations.