Action needed on gas emission levels to ‘curb worst effects’

CUTS in emissions of greenhouse gases can mute the worst impacts of global warming, such as water shortages for billions of people or extinction of almost half of Amazonian tree species, a draft UN report shows.

The report foresees ever-worsening damage to the planet as temperatures gain, including rising seas that could swamp low-lying Pacific island states or declining crop yields that could mean hunger for millions.

“The longer we go without action (to curb greenhouse gases) the more likely it is that some of the big feedbacks will kick in,” Richard Betts, manager of the climate impacts research team at the British Met Office.