UK should cut emissions by 40 per cent by 2020

29 October 2007 - 8:20pm — P and J

The Government should commit to reduce UK emissions of carbon dioxide by 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020 if it is to do its fair share to prevent dangerous climate change, according to a report published today by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).
IPPR's research shows that if global average temperature is allowed to rise more than 2?C above the pre-industrial level, dangerous climate change impacts are likely to occur including: billions more people facing water shortages worldwide; crop losses hitting major food exporting countries; a very high proportion of coral reefs dying; and the irreversible decline of the Amazon rainforest.