The evidence of global climate change is impossible to dismiss or ignore. Growing in tandem are the consequences of continued indifference to this phenomenon. Governments and individuals must abandon their short-term thinking and start taking action now to head off the devastating effects that human behavior is having on the environment.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established in 1988 to provide the stamp of legitimacy on studies of climate change. The IPCC is made up of 2,500 scientists from over 100 countries around the world. It reports its findings — the work of meticulous research by scientists and then equally painstaking editing and negotiations among governments — on a regular basis. The last reports were six years ago.
In February the IPCC released an assessment concluding that temperatures have risen by 0.76 C since the 19th century, and will rise by another 1.1 to 6.4 C this century. Equally important, it argued that global warming is "very likely" caused by human activities, including emissions of gases such as carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels. A second analysis, of the impact of that change, was released earlier this month. In May, it will provide recommendations on how to reduce the greenhouse gases that are transforming the climate.