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UN Warns of 'Abrupt' Warming

Earth at 'tipping point' of irreversible catastrophe: UN chief Ban Ki-Moon

By Jane Yager,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 17, 2007 6:18 AM CST
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(Newser) – The last and most forceful of a series of UN reports on climate change unveiled today urges swift action to avoid "abrupt and irreversible" damage to the environment. Melting glaciers will cause a rapid rise in sea levels, wiping out vulnerable species and destroying water and food supplies for many of the world's poorest people, warns the report by the Nobel prize-winning UN climate change panel, the BBC reports.

In releasing the report, in Valencia, Spain, where the scientists have been meeting, Ban Ki-Moon said it set the stage for concrete action to avert catastrophe and urged cooperation at next month's climate change conference in Bali. "I come to you humbled after seeing some of the most precious treasures of our planet threatened by humanity's own hand," said the UN chief, who has been on a fact-finding trip to Antarctica and South America.


Indonesian environmental activists roll a giant globe on the street during a demonstration calling for the government to take immediate action to reduce carbon emission at the main business district in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, Nov. 16, 2007. Indonesia is scheduled to host a U.N. conference on climate change next...
Indonesian environmental activists roll a giant globe on the street during a demonstration calling for the government to take immediate action to reduce carbon emission at the main business district in...   (Associated Press)
An Indonesian environmental activist rolls a giant globe on the street during a demonstration calling for the government to take immediate action to reduce carbon emission at the main business district in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, Nov. 16, 2007. Indonesia is scheduled to host a U.N. conference on climate change...
An Indonesian environmental activist rolls a giant globe on the street during a demonstration calling for the government to take immediate action to reduce carbon emission at the main business district...   (Associated Press)
Blades of grass grow through dried up farm land in Minqin County, in northwest China's Gansu province, in this July 12, 2007 file photo. A U.N. panel is examining the threat of irreversible rising sea levels and the mass extinction of species caused by climate change, as delegates draft...
Blades of grass grow through dried up farm land in Minqin County, in northwest China's Gansu province, in this July 12, 2007 file photo. A U.N. panel is examining the threat of irreversible rising sea...   (Associated Press)
Chairman of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Rajendra Pachauri, second left, President of the Comunidad Valenciana, Francisco Camps, left, Spain's Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega, second right, and Valencia's Mayoress Rita Barbera, right, are seen during the IPCC XXVII session opening ceremony at...
Chairman of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Rajendra Pachauri, second left, President of the Comunidad Valenciana, Francisco Camps, left, Spain's Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa...   (Associated Press)
An iceberg melts in Kulusuk Bay, eastern Greenland, in this July 17, 2007 file photo. A U.N. panel is examining the threat of irreversible rising sea levels and the mass extinction of species caused by climate change, as delegates draft a document laying the scientific groundwork for talks on...
An iceberg melts in Kulusuk Bay, eastern Greenland, in this July 17, 2007 file photo. A U.N. panel is examining the threat of irreversible rising sea levels and the mass extinction of species caused by...   (Associated Press)
A boat rests on the dry reservoir bed of the Entrepenas reservoir, Spain in this Sunday, Aug. 13, 2006, file photo. Negotiators working on a landmark global warming report don't need to go far to see the effects of climate change
A boat rests on the dry reservoir bed of the Entrepenas reservoir, Spain in this Sunday, Aug. 13, 2006, file photo. Negotiators working on a landmark global warming report don't need to go far to see...   (Associated Press)
A man is seen walking with a dog along a dry cracked reservoir bed in Alcora, eastern Spain in this May 20, 2005 file photo. Negotiators working on a landmark global warming report don't need to go far to see the effects of climate change
A man is seen walking with a dog along a dry cracked reservoir bed in Alcora, eastern Spain in this May 20, 2005 file photo. Negotiators working on a landmark global warming report don't need to go far...   (Associated Press)
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climate change • Africa • United Nations • global warming • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change • Antarctica • glacier • natural disaster • food security • water shortage • Ban Ki-moon

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