In the latest United Nations report on climate change, scientists document the stark toll inflicted by global warming through more intense heat waves, droughts, floods and other disasters, and present a dire warning that humanity should act quickly to move away from fossil fuels and cut planet-heating emissions.
The report goes beyond past assessments not only by detailing the latest science but also by focusing on how the world, while reducing emissions, can better adapt to the accelerating effects of climate change to reduce risks and protect especially vulnerable people.
The report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, stresses that the threats to people’s health, livelihoods and lives disproportionately affect those who lack resources to weather the blows. In pursuing climate solutions, the report’s authors say, there should be a focus on equity and justice, because the effects are exacerbating inequality and hitting especially hard for low-income people, marginalized communities and developing countries.
