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2^nd February 2007 (Source: Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs )

The most comprehensive assessment of the science of climate change, published today, has confirmed that urgent international political action is needed if we are to avoid dangerous climate change, said Environment Secretary David Miliband.

Today's report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shows that global temperatures continue to rise and that there has been an acceleration in the rate of changes observed over the last few decades.

Mr Miliband added:

"The report confirms our concerns that the window of opportunity to avoid dangerous climate change is closing more quickly than previously thought. It is another nail in the coffin of the climate change deniers and represents the most authoritative picture to date, showing that the debate over the science of climate change is well and truly over.

"What's now urgently needed is the international political commitment to take action to avoid dangerous climate change. This has been absent so far. If we are to succeed, we will require the engagement not just of environmental ministers but heads of state, prime ministers and finance ministers. This first report by the IPCC, and others to follow later this year, can provide a strong evidence base needed to move the prospects of agreement closer.

"Man-made climate change poses an increasing risk to people and business across the globe. It will have disastrous consequences if we don't act now. The economic evidence, following the Stern Review, is clear that tackling this challenge is both achievable and affordable."

Sir David King, the UK's Chief Scientific Adviser said:

"Since the publication of the last assessment of the IPCC in 2001, our understanding of man-made influences on climate and how the current climate is changing has improved. One main finding of the new IPCC report is that there has been an acceleration in the rate of changes observed in the last hundred years compared to the corresponding trends reported in 2001.

"The IPCC has played a vital function in the international climate change debate by assessing all the scientific evidence on climate change. This new publication confirms this and reinforces the role of the IPCC as the most comprehensive and authoritative source of information on climate change involving the participation of thousands of scientists from around the world and a long and open review process."

"There is now much stronger evidence that the emissions of greenhouse gases, produced, for example, as a result of fossil fuels burnt for transport, heating and industry, as well as a result of deforestation, are responsible for the warming observed since pre-industrial times. The Earth has warmed by 0.74(C since the beginning of the 20th Century".

Among the key findings highlighted are:

• human activities are causing concentrations of greenhouse gases to reach unprecedented levels
• by the end of the 21st century temperatures may rise by between 1.8 to 4 deg C (best estimates) or 1.1 and 6.4 deg C ( including all uncertainties). The actual warming will be significantly affected by the emissions of greenhouse gases that occur this century
• sea level may rise by up to half a metre by the end of this century (in figures: 0.18 to 0.59 m full range)
• the projected warming will increase the frequency of heat waves and heavy precipitation events, affect storminess and reduce snow and ice cover.

The UK has had a leading role in the IPCC and contributes to it through the work of the hundreds of UK scientists involved in the IPCC process, its active participation in the IPCC events and through financial support.

Notes to editors

1. Today's report, 'Climate Change 2007: the Physical Science Basis', describes the current scientific understanding of the dominant causes of climate change and observed changes, and provides estimates of projected future climate change. It can be found at: http://www.ipcc.ch
2. This is the first of three volumes forming the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernamental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This will be followed by a synthesis report that will encapsulate the key conclusions of the three Working Groups. The Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC builds upon past assessments and incorporates new results from the past six years of research. The other two volumes on the potential impacts of climate change and options for mitigating it will be published later this year.
3. The IPCC is sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).. It was set up in 1988 to assess the scientific and technical aspects of climate change, and has produced a series of publications, which have become standard works of reference. The reports and technical summaries are prepared wholly by the scientists from all regions of the world. More information is available on the IPCC website http://www.ipcc.ch.
4. The IPCC does not carry out research. It bases its assessment primarily on peer reviewed and published scientific/technical literature.
5. The UK provides financial support to Professor Martin Parry, who co-chairs the IPCC Working Group II (WGII) on impacts, adaptation and vulnerability, and the WGII Technical Unit, which supports Prof. Parry in this role. Previously DEFRA funded the TSU for Working Group I, which Sir John Houghton co-chaired for fourteen years.
6. The UK government also supports the head of the technical unit responsible for production of the Synthesis Report.

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