By Glenn Fubler

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published a report last week that deserves close attention. While three years ago, the historic Paris Conference concluded with a consensus limiting any median temperature rise to 2C, this latest meeting of the IPCC has concluded that any rise should be no more than 1.5C.

It appears to be a key crossroads for the human family. The IPCC suggests that there is a limited window of only 12 years to effect basic change. Key impacts documented by this report include:

• A rise by 2C may wipe out all of the Earth’s reef ecosystems

• That same median temperature rise could result in the polar ice caps melting completely, with the resultant sea-level rise.

• There will be a substantial increase in extreme weather conditions: severe hurricanes, droughts and floods

There is some irony that the report was published a few days before Hurricane Michael made landfall in the United States. This wake-up call is addressed to the seven billion of us who share the planet at present.

It will take a co-ordinated effort on the global, local and personal levels to address this challenge. It would seem that there is no issue more important than this reality to be addressed.

Read more here: http://www.royalgazette.com/opinion/article/20181016/call-to-action-on-climatechange