Dire warnings from IPCC about inaction on climate change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) today released its new report on global warming which contains dire predictions about the consequences if insufficient action is taken to stem the onrushing climate change crisis.

The report has a long official title --Global Warming of 1.5°C, an IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty -- and is an even longer read. But it makes it clear that failure to take drastic steps to eliminate carbon emissions will be disastrous. We are already seeing the consequences of our tardiness in reducing greenhouse gases today, the report notes. Read the report.

Reports CNN: Governments around the world must take "rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society" to avoid disastrous levels of global warming, says a stark new report from the global scientific authority on climate change.

The report issued Monday by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), says the planet will reach the crucial threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels by as early as 2030, precipitating the risk of extreme drought, wildfires, floods and food shortages for hundreds of millions of people. The date, which falls well within the lifetime of many people alive today, is based on current levels of greenhouse gas emissions."