Release of the Synthesis Report of the Fifth Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
November 2, 2014
This report is another canary in the coal mine.
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activity are higher than ever, and we're seeing more and more extreme weather and climate events, whether it's storm surges, devastating heat waves, and torrential rain, across the globe. It's not a coincidence. With this report, we have yet another round of authoritative, peer-reviewed science to prove it.
The bottom line is that our planet is warming due to human actions, the damage is already visible, and the challenge requires ambitious, decisive and immediate action.
We can't prevent a large scale disaster if we don't heed this kind of hard science. The longer we are stuck in a debate over ideology and politics, the more the costs of inaction grow and grow. Those who choose to ignore or dispute the science so clearly laid out in this report do so at great risk for all of us and for our kids and grandkids.
