Society faces 'irreversible' impact from climate change

Society faces “serious risks” from climate change – even with a global increase in temperature of only about two degrees, according to a new report.

The study, by the University of Copenhagen, said that if society wants to minimise these risks “action must be taken now”.

The launch of the 36-page document comes six months before the UN climate change conference (COP 15) begins in Copenhagen.
“Even with only one to two degrees warming there is evidence pointing towards the very real possibility of triggering tipping points caused by human man-made climate change,” said professor John Schellnhuber, one of the report’s authors and director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

“Even if we keep global warming below two degrees, we will still see extreme effects of climate change on our societies,” he said.

“Data suggests that climate indicators such as sea-level rise and glacier-melt are all changing at the maximum rate projected at the time of the last IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] report.”

Report co-author Katherine Richardson said, “Society has all the tools necessary to respond to climate change. The major ingredient missing is political will.

The Parliament