Little time left on global warming - study

[jpak]

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0410/breaking58.htm

Fighting global warming will be inexpensive but governments have little time left to avert big, damaging temperature rises, a draft United Nations report shows.

The draft, due for release in Bangkok on May 4th, indicates warming is on track to exceed a 2 Celsius (3.6 F) rise over pre-industrial times, regarded by the European Union as a threshold for "dangerous" change to nature.

Two scenarios highlighted in the report, the third in a UN series in 2007 that will guide policymakers, say the costs of limiting emissions of greenhouse gases could mean a loss of 0.2 or 0.6 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP) in 2030.

Some models show that measures such as greater efficiency in burning fossil fuels such as oil and coal could even mean a small net boost to the world economy, it said.

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