Scientists and officials meeting in Japan have published the most comprehensive assessment to date of the impacts of climate

change on the world. Members of the UN's climate panel say that their report provides overwhelming evidence of the scale of these effects. Natural systems are bearing the brunt right now but the scientists fear a growing impact on humans. Our health, homes, food and safety are all li ely to be threatened by rising temperatures, the summary says. !ontinue reading the main story

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"oing into the future, the ris s only increase, and these are about people, the impacts on crops, on the availability of water# $nd %uote &rof Neil 'dger University of $(eter )he report was agreed after almost a wee of intense discussions here in *o ohama. )his is the second of a series from the +ntergovernmental &anel on !limate !hange ,+&!!- due out this year that outlines the causes, effects and solutions to global warming. )his latest Summary for &olicyma ers document highlights the fact that the amount of scientific evidence on the impacts of warming has almost doubled since the last report in .//0. 1e it the melting of glaciers or warming of permafrost, the summary highlights the fact that on all continents and across the oceans, changes in the climate have caused impacts on natural and human systems in recent decades. +n the words of the report, 2increasing magnitudes of warming increase the li elihood of severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts2. 21efore this we thought we new this was happening, but now we have overwhelming evidence that it is happening and it is real,2 said 3r Saleemul hu4, a convening lead author on one of the chapters. !ontinue reading the main story

What is the IPCC?

+n its own words, the +&!! is there 2to provide the world with a clear scientific view on the current state of nowledge in climate change and its potential environmental and socio5economic impacts2. )he offspring of two UN bodies, the 6orld Meteorological Organi7ation and the United Nations $nvironment &rogramme, it has issued four heavyweight assessment reports to date on the state of the climate. )hese are commissioned by the governments of 89: countries, essentially the entire world. )hese reports are critical in informing the climate policies adopted by these governments.

)he +&!! itself is a small organisation, run from "eneva with a full time staff of 8.. 'll the scientists who are involved with it do so on a voluntary basis. Spea ing to ;ournalists at a news conference in *o ohama to launch the report, Michel Jarraud, secretary5general of the 6orld Meteorological Organi7ation, said that, previously, people could have damaged the $arth's climate out of 2ignorance2. 2Now, ignorance is no longer a good e(cuse,2 he said. )he report details significant short5term impacts on natural systems in the ne(t ./ to </ years. +t details five reasons for concern that would li ely increase as a result of the warming the world is already committed to. )hese include threats to uni4ue systems such as 'rctic sea ice and coral reefs, where ris s are said to increase to 2very high2 with a .! rise in temperatures. )he summary document outlines impacts on the seas and on freshwater systems as well. )he oceans will become more acidic, threatening coral and the many species that they harbour. 'nimals, plants and other species will begin to move towards higher ground or towards the poles as the mercury rises. =umans, though, are also increasingly affected as the century goes on