UN climate panel says 'unprecedented changes' needed to limit global warming to 1.5C

A landmark UN report paints a dire picture of the catastrophic consequences the world will face if immediate action is not taken to limit the global warming to 1.5C, warning that at 2C, the world could see 10cm more global sea level rise, loss of all coral-reefs and worsening food shortages.

Limiting global warming to 1.5C will require "far-reaching and unprecedented changes," such as ditching coal for electricity to slash carbon emissions, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has said, launching a special report that said the world must move faster on climate change.

The IPCC, the UN's top climate panel, issued the report from Incheon, Republic of Korea, where for the past week, hundreds of scientists and government representatives have been pouring over thousands of inputs to paint a picture of what could happen to the planet and its inhabitants with global warming of 1.5C (or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).

"One of the key messages that comes out very strongly from this report is that we are already seeing the consequences of 1C of global warming through more extreme weather, rising sea levels and diminishing Arctic sea ice, among other changes," Co-Chair of one of the IPCC Working Groups Panmao Zhai said.

The landmark Paris Agreement adopted in December 2015 by 195 nations at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) included the aim of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change by "holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2C above preindustrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels."