Climate change ‘will soon be irreversible’

The world faces a "very high risk of severe, widespread and irreversible" impacts from climate change without action to cut emissions, a major international report has warned.

Experts warned there was little time before the window of opportunity to limit temperature rises to below dangerous levels closed, and that delaying action would greatly increase the costs.

The warning came as the United Nations climate body published the final report of its latest assessment on the science of climate change, drawing together three studies published in the past year.