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The world must reduce global warming now to avoid the high costs of its effects in the future, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said, releasing a report described as the death knell for the world as we know it.
“Taking action now gives us the best chance of success,” the IPCC said upon releasing its latest report on Monday.
Increasing temperatures and extreme events such as droughts, floods and heatwaves are exposing plants and animals to climatic conditions not experienced for at least tens of thousands of years, the panel warned.
“The impacts we see today are appearing much faster, they are more disruptive and more widespread than we expected 20 years ago,” the IPCC said, noting that changes in temperature, rainfall, and extreme weather have also increased the frequency and spread of diseases in wildlife, agriculture and people.
“Healthy ecosystems and rich biodiversity underpin human survival,” the report said.
However, the IPCC also said these trends could still be reversed by restoring, rebuilding and strengthening ecosystems and by managing them sustainably - which would also support peoiple’s wellbeing and livelihoods.
Otherwise, the consequences are likely to be dire, the IPCC warned.
“Climate-sensitive food-borne, water-borne, and vector-borne disease risks are projected to increase under all levels of warming without additional adaptation.”
“In particular, dengue risk will increase with longer seasons and a wider geographic distribution in Asia, Europe, Central and South America and sub-Saharan Africa, potentially putting additional billions of people at risk by the end of the century.” Leaders echoed the warnings in the report and called for action.
“I’ve seen many reports, but nothing like the new IPCC climate report, an atlas of human suffering and damning indictment of failed climate leadership,” UN chief Ant?nio Guterres said in a tweet.
“I know people everywhere are anxious and angry. I am, too. It’s time to turn rage into climate action.” “Today’s report on adaptation from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is another death knell for the world we know it,” Guterres said.
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01/03/2022
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