Tipping point

Natural world on brink

A report has sparked new concerns over global climate change. The study, by WWF and Allianz, claims temperatures are close to ‘tipping points’ – threshold levels past which the change could have devastating effects.

Experts have urged the EU Environment Ministers to substantially increase targets for emissions reduction. Keith Allott, Head of Climate Change at WWF UK said: “Reaching a tipping point means losing something forever. Global leaders need to recognise how close we are to tipping the scales toward climate disaster, and to take the necessary steps ensure we get a strong and binding climate deal in Copenhagen in December.”

An emissions report from the European Climate Foundation predicted that 2020 will see global emissions still rising, threatening a temperature rise of a minimum of three degrees. Allot called the current EU target of a 20% emissions reduction in the next decade “embarrassingly weak.”

As well as the likely increase of natural disasters and drought as a result of climate change, the report stressed the economic cost of these effects. Increased droughts were predicted to cost 40 billion US dollars each decade, until the middle of the century. The United Nations Climate Change Conference will take place in Copenhagen from December 7th-18th.