According to the Guardian, a leaked UN report shows that global temperatures will still rise by an average of 3C with the emission cuts that have been offered in Copenhagen. While a rise in 2C–which Obama planned to offer–would have serious consequences (more droughts, more floods, and a decline in tropical crop yield), a rise in 3C would mean that 170 more million people dealing with coastal flooding and at least 550 million more at risk of hunger. Greenpeace campaigner Joss Garman told the Guardian:
“The UN is admitting in private that the pledges made by world leaders would lead to a 3C rise in temperatures. The science shows that could lead to the collapse of the Amazon rainforest, crippling water shortages across South America and Australia and the near-extinction of tropical coral reefs, and that’s just the start of it.”
[Via: The Guardian]
Follow me on Twitter @sarahesterman
