Devastating report on climate change

The world faces catastrophic drought and food shortages because of climate change unless governments act now, a new report concludes.

The latest evaluation of global warming from a United Nations network of scientists predicts colossal migration flows and major flooding affecting coastal cities around the world if the atmosphere continues to heat up at current rates.

Two months ago the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), predicted a three-degree average global temperature rise by the end of the century.

The same panel now publishes its worst-case scenario for the impact on ordinary people around the globe.

The report, finalised at four days of talks in Brussels, warns that many of the poorest, least industrialised nations - those least to blame for global warming - are also the most vulnerable to its consequences.

It suggests that between 1.1 billion and 3.2 billion people will face water shortages and between 200 million and 600 million will confront hunger by 2080 as global warming causes heatwaves, fires, droughts and storms.

The IPCC, using the expertise of 2,500 scientists from 130 countries, says it is more than 90 per cent certain that human behaviour is to blame for the crisis.

A temperature rise of 1-2 degrees Centigrade would see one third of the earth's species either displaced or wiped out.

Scientists want governments to commit themselves to reversing the rise in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

Last month EU leaders made binding pledges to cut greenhouse gases by one fifth and treble the use of wind, wave and solar power by 2020 compared with 1990 levels.

They also promised to increase the use of renewable energy to 20 per cent of total energy needs by 2020.

The British government also set an ambitious goal of cutting greenhouse gases by 60 per cent by 2050.

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