More than 1,500 scientists, including the majority of Nobel prize-winners in science, have issued a strong statement on climate change, urging world leaders to take decisive action to "prevent its potentially devastating consequences".
The declaration was issued yesterday at a "science summit" on climate change in Washington DC, in advance of the crucial UN conference at the end of this year in Kyoto where world leaders will gather to negotiate an agreement to reduce "greenhouse gas" emissions.
"Let there be no doubt about the conclusions of the scientific community. The threat of global warming is very real and action is needed immediately," said Dr Henry Kendall, Nobel laureate and chairman of the Union of Concerned Scientists, who drafted the statement.
"A strong treaty [at Kyoto] would be the first step to protect future generations from dire prospects . . . The stark facts carry a clear signal. There is only one responsible choice, to act now," says the statement.
The scientists' "call to action" was signed by 98 of the 171 Nobel laureates in science from a total of 60 countries. The signatories include leaders and senior members of many national science academies.
Their statement says global warming is under way, that the over-use of fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas is partly to blame and that the Kyoto conference must address what had become "one of the most serious threats to the planet and to future generations".
It says climate change is projected to raise sea levels, to increase the likelihood of more intense rainfall, floods and droughts, and to endanger human health by spreading exposure to heatwaves and tropical diseases to higher latitudes, such as northern Europe.
Global warming would exacerbate food shortages and accelerate the "appalling pace" at which species were now disappearing, while the continued destruction of forests would undermine the environment's ability to store carbon, thereby contributing to climate change.
Dr Kendall said there was an urgent need to turn away from oil and coal towards viable cutting-edge technologies involving wind, biomass and solar power. "A move to clean energy and energy efficiency will bring major benefits to both industrial and developing nations."
The scientists say a strong climate treaty in Kyoto would set a landmark precedent for addressing other grave environmental threats, many of them linked to climate change. It would also show that world leaders had recognised their duty of stewardship for the Earth.
"This is a wake-up call", said Prof Dudley Herschbach, of Harvard University. "Never before has the scientific community spoken so boldly on the urgent need to prevent disruption to our climate.
