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IPCC Climate
Change Report 2007
February 2, 2007-Global climate
change is "very likely" to have been human-induced, the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has concluded.The report,
produced by a team tasked with assessing the science of climate change, was
intended to be the definitive summary of climatic shifts facing the world in the
coming years.
Dr Rajendra Pachauri, the IPCC
chairman, said: "It is extremely encouraging in that the science has moved
on from what was possible in the Third Assessment Report.
"If you see the extent to
which human activities are influencing the climate system, the options for
mitigating greenhouse gas emissions appear in a different light, because you can
see what the costs of inaction are," he told delegates in Paris.
Achim Steiner, executive director
of the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep), said the findings marked a
historical landmark in the debate about whether humans were affecting the state
of the atmosphere.
"It is an unequivocal series
of evidence [showing that] fossil fuel burning and land use change are affecting
the climate on our planet."
He added: "If you are an
African child born in 2007, by the time you are 50 years old you may be faced
with disease and new levels of drought."
He said that he hoped the IPCC
report would galvanise national governments into action.
Impacts of
Climate change
- Possible temperature rise by
the end of the century ranges between 1.1C and 6.4C (2-11.5F)
- Sea levels are likely to rise
by 28-43cm
- Arctic summer sea ice is
likely to disappear in second half of century
- It is very likely that parts
of the world will see an increase in the number of heatwaves
- Climate change is likely to
lead to increased intensity of tropical storms
THE CAUSE: Global warming
is "very likely" caused by man — the strongest conclusion to date.
Concentrations of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the planet's atmosphere
"have increased markedly as a result of human activities since 1750,"
mainly from the use of fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal, and because of
agriculture.
THE OUTLOOK: Hotter
temperatures and rises in sea level "would continue for centuries" no
matter how much humans control their pollution. It is "very likely"
that heat waves, hot weather, and heavy rainfalls could become more frequent.
Toward the end of the century, sea ice in the Arctic may disappear "almost
entirely" in summer.
TEMPERATURE CHANGE: Predicted
temperature rises of 2-11.5 degrees Fahrenheit by the year 2100.
However, the panel also said its
best estimate was for temperature rises of 3.2-7.1 degrees Fahrenheit.
SEA LEVELS: Projects rises
of 7-23 inches by the end of the century. An additional 3.9-7.8 inches are
possible if recent, surprising melting of polar ice sheets continues.
HURRICANES: An increase in
hurricane and tropical cyclone strength since 1970 "more likely than
not" can be attributed to man-made global warming. Scientists said global
warming's connection varies with storms in different parts of the world, but
that it influences the storms that strike the Americas.
Man-made factors have
"likely" contributed to changes in wind patterns. It also is
"likely" that typhoons and hurricanes will become more intense, with
stronger winds and heavier rains.
- The Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological
Organisation (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep).
- The role of the IPCC is to
assess the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change, its
potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation
- The global body does not carry
out any research of its own
- Its assessments are mainly on
peer reviewed and published scientific/technical literature
- The First Assessment Report
was published in 1990; the last one, the Third Assessment Report, was
released in 2001
http://www.ipcc.ch
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