IPCC: Seriously, We’re Not Kidding…Climate Change Is Real
What’s the Latest Development?
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released a 36-page summary document ahead of next week’s 2,500-page report that, for the first time ever, states in no uncertain terms that “human influence on climate change is clear.” Among many dire warnings and predictions, it declares, also for the first time, that there is a link between climate change and extreme weather events, and that world governments must consider some sort of “global carbon budget” if not an outright price on carbon emissions.
What’s the Big Idea?
The summary document and the report itself represent the strongest statement yet concerning the dangers of climate change. What makes the summary even more powerful is the fact that all IPCC panel members, representing 195 countries, signed off on every word in it after an all-night session. Writer Eric Holthaus puts it simply: “Without jumping up and down on the desks of their computer terminals, this forum of scientists has done about as much as they can do. With this report, they have…confidently projected dire consequences should world governments fail to act immediately.“
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