“A Code Red for Humanity”: Major U.N. Report Warns of Climate Catastrophe If Urgent Action Not Taken

In its first major report in nearly a decade, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned the Earth could face runaway global temperature changes unless drastic efforts are made to reduce greenhouse gases. The IPCC says humans are “unequivocally” to blame for the climate crisis, which has already caused “widespread and rapid changes.” Scientists conclude average global temperatures will likely rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, above preindustrial levels by 2040 based on carbon emissions already in the atmosphere. The report also warns temperatures will continue to rapidly warm after 2040 unless immediate action is taken now. For more, we speak with two lead authors of the new IPCC report: Kim Cobb, professor of Earth and atmospheric sciences at Georgia Tech, and Bob Kopp, professor and director of the Institute of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Rutgers University. “The changes we’re seeing now are widespread. They’re rapid. They’re intensifying. They’re unprecedented in thousands of years,” says Kopp. “It’s indisputable that these changes are linked to human activities.”

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