Climate change report: what we must do to avert the looming crisis

The main driver of climate change is the greenhouse effect -- when certain gases in the Earth's atmosphere trap the sun's heat and cause global warming. Richard Drury/Getty Images

Climate change is a threat to all aspects of our lives. Every degree of global warming is likely to increase the intensity and frequency of climate extremes, such as drought and flooding. In a bid to address this, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – an intergovernmental body of the United Nations – has released a key report which looks at mitigation of climate change.

The report is prepared by 278 authors from 65 countries, based on evidence from 18,000 scientific references. It examines the sources of global emissions and explores the strategies that can be taken to limit and prevent global warming induced by humans.