The world will cross the key 1.5-degree Celsius global warming limit in about a decade, the UN said Monday, warning that devastating impacts of climate change are hitting faster than expected.
In the final instalment of a major series of reports, delivered in a crucial decade in human history, the UN's climate advisory panel urged dramatic reductions in planet-heating emissions.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's key message is that while humanity has driven the planet to the precipice of climate catastrophe, there is still time to steer global temperatures to within relatively safe limits.
That will require enormous global effort.
"Rapid and far-reaching transitions across all sectors and systems are necessary to achieve deep and sustained emissions reductions and secure a liveable and sustainable future for all," said the report's "summary for policymakers".
Distilling the weight of scientific knowledge on climate change, the IPCC's work will form the basis of intense political and economic negotiations in the coming years, starting with the UN COP28 climate negotiations in Dubai later this year.
The 36-page summary -- a synthesis of six major reports since 2018 -- is a brutal reminder that while humanity has the tools to prevent climate catastrophe, it is still not putting them to use.
But it represents a "message of hope", the head of the IPCC told AFP.
"We have know-how, technology, tools, financial resources -- everything needed to overcome the climate problems we have known about for so long," Hoesung Lee said in a video interview.
"What's lacking at this point is a strong political will to resolve these issues once and for all."
-AFP
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