UN climate report adds urgency to act now

The report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) represents a fundamental international consensus on global warming. Summarizing 29,000 data sets and 75 separate studies it sets out the dire consequences of global warming while calling at the same time for quick countermeasures from governments to avoid, reduce, or delay some of the worst effects. Some of these effects will result in the further drifting apart of rich and poor nations due to climate change. With increased droughts, crop failures, heat waves and sea level rise, global warming will first of all affect populations in Africa, South America and Asia, least able to adapt to climate change.

This is one key message from the latest report "Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability" issued on 6 April after one week of discussion in Brussels. The panel of scientists and diplomats also concluded that man-made warming over the last three decades could put up to 30% of plant and animal species at high risk of extinction if increases in global temperature exceed 1.5 to 2.5 °C.

Conclusions More specifically, the IPCC report finds the following:

Global Warming could increase the number of the hungry in 2080 by 140 million to 1 billion, depending on the greenhouse gas emissions over the next decades.

Water shortages might harm as many as 250 million people in Africa by 2020, and more than a billion in Asia by 2050.

A 2- to 3-fold increase of population to be flooded is expected by 2080.

The number of climate refugees will outnumber traditional refugees, reaching possibly 50 million by 2010.

Some areas of Europe are projected to lose up to 60% of their species by 2080. Reactions "Adequate, large-scale adaptation measures have the potential to alleviate some of the worst consequences outlined in the report, if Governments take action without delay," United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on policymakers worldwide to act. "This is a glimpse into an apocalyptic future. The earth will be transformed by human induced climate change, unless action is taken soon and fast," also warned Stephanie Tunmore, Greenpeace International Climate & Energy Campaigner. Background The current report is the second part of a series of four that will be issued by the IPCC this year. While the first part, released in Paris two months ago, dealt with the science of climate change, the third report is expected to provide concrete measures to combat man-made global warming. It will be released in May.