‘Code red for humanity’: what the papers say about the IPCC report on the climate crisis
Dire warnings about irreversible damage to our climate fill the front pages of newspapers in Britain and around the world The front pages are filled with alarm in the wake of the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes global climate change report the first since 2013 which finds that human activity is changing the Earths climate in unprecedented ways, with some of the changes now inevitable and irreversible. An image of an elderly woman reacting to unprecedented wildfires on the island of Evia in Greece so perfectly encapsulates the global feeling of distress and fear that it appears on the front pages of the Guardian, Financial Times, Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph. The Guardian s headline is Global climate crisis: inevitable, unprecedented and irreversible , as the reports scientists find that while drastic reductions in emissions are urgent and necessary, it is too late to return the world to less extreme weather patterns. The piece includes a quote from Greenpeace UKs chief UK scientist warning: This is not the first generation of world leaders to be warned by scientists about the gravity of the climate crisis, but theyre the last that can afford to ignore them. The papers leader analysis piece begins: As a verdict on the climate crimes of humanity, the new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report could not be clearer: guilty as hell. Guardian front page, 10 August 2021 Global climate crisis: inevitable, unprecedented and irreversible pic.twitter.com/AruTFXzRyj The Financial Times headline above the photo is World likely to be 1.5C warmer by 2040, UNs science panel warns. Its opinion top line is that Failure to cut greenhouse gas emissions deeply would lead within a few decades to what a leading climatologist called hell on earth. Just published: Front page of the Financial Times, UK edition, for Tuesday 10th August pic.twitter.com/5psTw7q6HI The Daily Telegraph s more muted take is Cash pledge to boost the switch to green gas boilers as UN warns of climate reality check. The story opens: Carbon taxes and more money to help homeowners switch to green boilers are under consideration by ministers, as a landmark UN report warned some effects of climate change are becoming irreversible. Its front page splash is on A-level results. The front page of tomorrow's Daily Telegraph: 'Williamson: students deserve the top grades' #TomorrowsPapersToday Sign up for the Front Page newsletter https://t.co/x8AV4Oomry pic.twitter.com/3f4eDstasj The Times headline focuses on the 234 scientists from 66 countries who contributed to the report, with Top scientists call for urgent road map out of climate change. Its main story is also on A-levels. Tuesday's TIMES: A-grades awarded in almost half of exams #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/6GsvHtB4FX The Daily Mail s headline is As doomsday report warns of apocalyptic climate change... can UK lead world back from brink? The story is carried inside the paper, while the front page report is on the high cost of Covid travel tests. Tuesday's @DailyMailUK #MailFrontPages pic.twitter.com/x4lYUUkKXG The Independent s entire front page is taken up by images of fire, drought and flood, behind the headline Code red for humanity, which is from the comment made in response to the report by UN secretary general Antonio Guterres, who warned: This report must sound a death knell for coal and fossil fuels before they destroy our planet. Tomorrow's @independent front page #tomorrowspaperstoday To subscribe to the Daily Edition https://t.co/IBJzGH2OM8 pic.twitter.com/S4iWcrZAwa The i and Metro also lead on Code Red, with the is subheading Shocking verdict on future of humanity as scientists urge PM to create UK climate plan. CODE RED - Shocking verdict on future of humanity - as scientists urge PM to create UK climate plan. Tuesdays @theipaper front page #tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers #skypapers #climate #COP26 pic.twitter.com/SHPDJH2SoX Tomorrow's paper tonight CODE RED FOR HUMANITY Extreme weather down to global warming, says doomsday report from UN World will heat up at least 1.5C by 2040... A decade earlier than was forecast #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/75DacU0Zc4 The Daily Express leads with Boris Johnsons comments: Wake up to red alert on climate crisis. Johnson called the report a wake-up call to the world. Tomorrow's front page: PM says wake up to red alert on climate crisis #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/mmz6orXRaq Elsewhere in the world, Canadas Globe and Mail for Monday carries the headline Humans to blame for acceleration in climate change: report. Climate change is proceeding at a faster pace and producing widespread effects that are more definitively tied to human influence than ever before, according to a new @UN report from a global team of scientists. https://t.co/2klAI32808 In Australia , where the government has faced criticism for refusing to commit to more ambitious emissions reduction targets its goal of cutting emissions just 26% by 2030 has not changed in six years the front page of the state paper the West Australian was a graphic repeating the word human the cause of climate change interrupted by the words Its not too late. The front page of tomorrow's The West Australian #auspol #ClimateReport #climate pic.twitter.com/aINVjXnlAi The Sydney Morning Herald s headline is Latest UN climate data stresses rise in urgency. Good morning. Here's today's front page of the Herald https://t.co/eEH8m1plEu pic.twitter.com/9FDj9mpBSg The South China Morning Post focuses on what the report says is in store for Hong Kong, with typhoons more destructive than Mangkhut, droughts that wreak havoc on drinking water supplies and pummelling heatwaves if global warming exceeds 2 degrees Celcius. Good morning. Here are today's front page and headlines: pic.twitter.com/I3DJz5iCf9