Curbing greenhouse gas emissions and removing carbon from the atmosphere would limit the increase and cause temperatures to drop again, said the text, which was compiled by hundreds of scientists from 65 countries.
However, the document clarified that the window is rapidly closing, and with it the opportunity to prevent the worst effects of global warming.
Above the 1.5 degree Celsius limit set in the 2015 Paris, France climate agreement, the likelihood of extreme weather events and ecosystem collapse increases, he stressed.
The approximately 2,900-page document is the latest in a trilogy comprising the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s sixth climate assessment.
The first two assessments focused on the underlying science and how climate affects people and ecosystems.
More than three decades after the panel’s first report, experts say the current report is the strongest yet to date of the consequences of poor management.
The question now, they noted, is whether national leaders will finally meet the challenge with action, not broken promises.
“Despite further mitigation efforts by more governments at all levels, emissions continue to rise,” said Karen Seto, coordinating lead author of the text.
We have to do a lot more, and we have to do it quickly, said the geographer from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
car/znc