The IPCC paper offers a damning assessment of climate impacts to date, with billions of peoples lives and livelihoods damaged. The world has progressed by 1.1C compared to pre-industrial levels but if it goes above 1.5C, many effects will become irreversible.
Helen Clarkson, CEO of non-profit Climate Group, said:
"For those with any doubt, this report brings into focus the real world impacts of climate change. For many parts of our natural environment it is already too late, for many communities their lives have already been turned upside down. Support for them is non-negotiable. However, this is not an excuse to give up on delivering serious, systematic emissions cuts. This is bad, but it could get significantly worse.
"The responsibility lies with today's policymakers and business leaders. We need to hold them to account on the commitments they have made and push them to make sure these are ambitious enough to be compatible with the science, and that they start to deliver the change they've promised. This is not just about the citizens of tomorrow, but of today."
Tim Ash Vie, Director of the Under2 Coalition Secretariat, Climate Group, said:
"Our climate is changing. We can see these changes with our own eyes and it is state and regional governments having to adapt to the very real environmental and economic consequences of a global failure to address them. This report is a stark reminder that this must be the year we say 'enough' and work together across all levels of government to meet the challenges of the new reality we all face."
