[All] Fw: Climate Action News: New IPCC report confirms: climate science is settled, the debate is over and there is still time to avoid the worst

[Louisette Lanteigne]

Everything you want to know about the latest IPCC report is right here. 

Lulu 

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From: Climate Action Network Canada <media at climateactionnetwork.ca>
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Sent: Friday, September 27, 2013 7:47:52 PM
Subject: Climate Action News: New IPCC report confirms: climate science is settled, the debate is over and there is still time to avoid the worst
 


Climate Action News: New IPCC report confirms: climate science is settled, the debate is over and there is still time to avoid the worst  
Friday, September 27, 2013


 
IPCC releases its Fifth Assessment Report: Climate science settled beyond reasonable doubt but still time to fix the climate

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the first part of its Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) today, Friday, September 27. The report shows with greater clarity and certainty than ever before that climate change is real, caused by human activity and requires urgent action. According to the IPCC, sea levels are rising, precipitation patterns are changing, sea ice is declining and oceans are acidifying – all faster than ever before and all with grave consequences for our communities, environments and economies. In other words, the debate on climate science is over. Climate scientists have done their job in making these facts clear beyond any reasonable doubt and now it’s time for the world to act, and for Canada to do its fair share.


This graph shows where the heat from global warming is being absorbed. (Nuccitelli et al 2012, Total Heat Content)
 
What does this mean for governments and citizens around the world? First, it reiterates the importance of urgent action to tackle this threat. While climate change is affecting people here and now, the consequences will be even worse in the future if action is not taken. The report also outlines a global level for carbon dioxide emissions that the world can’t afford to exceed if we want to avoid climate change’s worst impacts. This means that most fossil fuel reserves have to stay in the ground, and the use of oil, coal and gas must eventually be phased out altogether - by the middle of the 21st century. To do its fair share and to avoid being left behind in the global clean energy transition, Canada must act decisively to curb emissions now so that global greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to zero by 2050.
 
The good news is, there are easy places for governments to make quick progress. For example, there is a wide range of affordable, effective and often profitable renewable energy sources available, as well as innovative policies and solutions for implementing them. There is also a wide range of energy efficiency solutions which can save everyone money while helping the planet. Also important is the fact that climate change mitigation means cutting down on pollution and all its attendant effects. For example, a recent study indicated that fighting climate change also battles disease as a side-effect. There are also economic opportunities involved in economic diversification. The “Dutch disease” is only one aspect of the well-known “resource curse” phenomenon which could harm Canada’s long term economic prospects.
  
The takeaway? It’s time to act, and to do so decisively. We have the tools, and we know how to use them.
 
Read More: 
 
Climate Action Network Canada Press Release
New IPCC report confirms: no more room for doubt on climate change, now we need urgent action
Climate Action Network Canada's response to the federal government's reaction to the report

Read the IPCC report
IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report

Tools and Resources:
How to read the IPCC
Briefing: The Hottest Decade (Climate Nexus)
Report: Dealing in Doubt (Greenpeace)
Commentary profiles: Serial climate misinformers (Skeptical Science)
 
What people are saying:
Statement: Body of climate science ‘overwhelming’ (Earth League)
Press Release: Nature’s distress call is getting louder (WWF)
Press Release: A hotter world is a warmer world (Oxfam)
Report: Climate change, food and the fight without hunger (Oxfam)
Press Release: Climate change impacting children’s lives worldwide (Unicef)
Report: Climate Change: Children’s Challenge (Unicef) 


Connect with us:



 
Headlines:
Climate change report sparks partisan attack by Environment Minister Aglukkaq

Fossil Fuels Need to Stay Unburned to Meet Climate Target

IPCC press release for publication of 5th Assessment Report



 
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media at climateactionnetwork.ca 

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