New IPCC report spells out grim future

Reacting to the release of the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Dr Richard Dixon, Director of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said:

“Business as usual means a very grim future, especially if you live in a poor country, where floods, droughts, food shortages and rising sea levels will make life very difficult indeed. But nowhere will escape major impacts, as global food production is devastated and hundreds of millions of people flee homelands no longer able to support them. This report is a very stark reminder of why the world needs to give up on fossil fuels as quickly as possible to make sure the worst of these predictions don’t come true. World leaders need to step up with tough emission reduction pledges at Ban Ki-Moon’s summit in September and agree an effective global climate deal in Paris at the end of next year.”

“Temperatures are up, polar ice is disappearing and the oceans are getting more acid. Scientists are clear climate change is real, is caused by humans and is already having severe impacts on people and nature. The world is already a degree warmer than it was, and could be heading for a disastrous 4.5 degrees of warming by 2100. The world’s politicians can’t continue to stand idly by while the world goes spinning towards a climate catastrophe.

“Faced with overwhelming scientific evidence, supported by the public, there is no excuse for failing to act on climate change.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment, Working Group 2, which is published today. It’s expected to paint a bleak picture about the impacts of climate change on food production, ecosystems, resources – such as water – and human health. www.ipcc.ch
2. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a UN body tasked with producing five yearly updates of knowledge on the scientific, technical and socio-economic aspects of climate change. It has three scientific working groups each producing and publishing a detailed report.
3. The first group Working Group 1, The Physical Science Basis (WG1) published its report in September 2013. A Friends of the Earth summary of its findings is available here: http://www.foe.co.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/ipcc_report_2013.pdf
4. A third IPCC report , WG3 on mitigation is due out on Sunday 13 April 2014.
5. In exclusive interviews for Friends of the Earth leading climate scientist Professor Kevin Anderson suggests carbon pollution from cars and fridges could fall 50-80% within 10 years if governments got tough on manufacturers. And Philippines climate negotiator Yeb Sano says winning the battle against climate change is a battle of hearts and minds given the scale of change required is as great as the industrial revolution: https://www.foe.co.uk/news/latest-climate-science
6. Friends of the Earth Scotland is:
* Scotland’s leading environmental campaigning organisation
* An independent Scottish charity with a network of thousands of supporters and active local groups across Scotland
* Part of the largest grassroots environmental network in the world, uniting over 2 million supporters, 77 national member groups, and some 5,000 local activist groups
www.foe-scotland.org.uk