International Task Force Confirms Need for Action on Global Warming Now

The members of the task force conclude that global temperature increase must be kept from rising above 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F) from pre-industrial levels in order to avoid severe consequences such as widespread crop loss and water shortages. Current projections in global warming pollution suggest we could reach this threshold within the next decade.

The report also advises countries on ways to lower global warming pollution. These include mandating that at least 25 percent of a country's energy needs come from renewable sources by 2025 and deploying existing low-and zero-carbon technologies.

This report adds to the recent findings of the Arctic Council in its Arctic Climate Impacts Assessment, which states that the Arctic is already experiencing severe impacts from global warming. Scientists from the United Nations to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences have concluded that global warming is happening, caused by the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil. How much more evidence will the Bush Administration need before taking action to protect us from what Honorable Stephen Byers calls the "ecological time-bomb" of global warming?

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