800 scientists assess what we know about climate change- highlights of the 5th IPCC Report

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued its 5^th report on the on 27 September 2013, bringing together over 800 scientists to make a comprehensive assessment of what we know about the science of climate change.

This latest report highlights –

• Each of the last three decades has been successively warmer than any preceding decade since 1850

• The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have been losing mass, glaciers have continued to shrink almost worldwide, and Arctic sea ice and Northern Hemisphere spring snow cover have continued to decrease in extent

• It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of global warming observed since the 1950s

• For global warming to stay under 2°C, carbon dioxide emissions from all human sources have to be substantially and permanently reduced

The Australian Climate Council has prepared a useful summary here: http://www.climatecouncil.org.au/

Read the IPCC report here:  http://www.ipcc.ch/

09/30/2013 – 16:48