almotamar.net google - The world has the technology and can afford to limit catastrophic climate change, scientists and delegates from more than 120 countries, including the United States, China and the EU, agreed in Bangkok earlier today.
But the world must act now if it is to stand a chance of reducing the harmful effects of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the blueprint for governments on what to do about climate change.
Prompt take-up of biofuels, renewable energy sources, greater energy efficiency and nuclear power can slow down what would otherwise be a worldwide disaster, according to the report, the summary of a much longer report by a 2,000 strong network of UN scientists and energy experts, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the panel, said of the final summary report: "It's stunning in its brilliance and relevance. It's a remarkable step forward."
Coming out of the meeting early today, delegates said science appeared to have trumped politics - especially opposition from China, which wanted language inserted allowing for a greater build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere before action would be taken.
a
Beijing and its supporters had argued moves to make deep cuts in carbon dioxide emissions risked stifling its spectacular economic growth, delegates said.
China failed to remove mention of a stringent emission target from the report. The Chinese delegation could not be reached for comment.
The United States delegation is pleased the report "highlights the importance of a portfolio of clean energy technologies consistent with our approach," said the head of the US delegation, Harlan Watson.
"The United States leads the world in deploying a range of technologies that scientific and economic experts have now agreed can provide a global solution to reduce emissions and sustain economic growth," he said.
The report on mitigation is the third published this year by the panel, a UN network of 2,000 scientists, and makes plain that the world must act immediately if the global temperature increase is to be capped at 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial-age levels.
The earlier two reports warned that unabated greenhouse gas emissions could drive global temperatures up as much as 6 degrees Celsius (11 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100, triggering the destruction of vast numbers of species, sea level rise, economic devastation in tropical zones and mass human migrations.
Current efforts are aimed at capping the increase in temperatures to 2 degrees C (3.6-degrees F), but even an increase that slight could subject up to 2 billion people to water shortages by 2050 and threaten extinction for 20 per cent to 30 per cent of the world's species, the IPCC said.
Peter Lukey, a member of the South Africa delegation, said: "It's all done. Everything we wanted to see was there and more. The message is: We have to do something now."
Delegates at the week-long meeting squabbled over how to share the burden of cutting emissions, how much such measures would cost, and how much weight to give certain policy measures, such as advanced nuclear power, an option supported by the United States.
Michel Petit, a French delegate, adding that China and the other developing countries ended up compromising on all major issues, said: "This is still an excellent report. Nothing important was removed during the process."
Much of this week's debate has centered around how much it will cost to adopt greener policies. The report says the deeper and faster the cut, the higher the cost.
But the bill could be relatively modest and existing technologies, or those within reach, can be used.
The cost of acting now should be weighed against the risk that delay will drive up the cost in the medium and long term, says the report.
It highlights this scenario among others: stabilising emissions at 445-535 parts per million (ppm) of CO2 equivalent would limit the overall rise in global warming since pre-industrial times to 2.0-2.8 C (3.6-5.0 F). The cost in 2030 would be less than 0.12 percentage points of annual world GDP growth.
On present trends, emissions are projected to rise 25-90 per cent by 2030, compared with levels in 2000.
Between two-thirds and three-quarters of this increase is projected to come from developing countries, although their per capita emission levels will remain well below those of rich countries.