UN secretary general warns 'humanity is on thin ice' following climate change report
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres issued a stark warning on climate change, warning the "time bomb is ticking" on the heels of a new climate report. The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published its "synthesis report" Monday detailing the impact humanity has had on climate change and what needs to be done to counter the shift. "Humanity is on thin ice, and the ice is melting fast," Guterres said during a recorded address. "Humans are responsible for virtually all global heating over the last 200 years. The rate of temperature rising in the last half century is the highest in 2,000 years." UN CALLS FOR SCIENTIST TO SERVE COLD, HARD FACTS THAT WILL PUSH GOVERNMENTS TO CURB CLIMATE CHANGE "Concentrations of carbon dioxide are at their highest in at least two million years," he continued. "The climate time bomb is ticking." He detailed how the world would need to endure a "quantum leap in climate action" to reverse course, but argued it is possible if all countries are aligned socially and economically to mitigate the trend. Developed countries should cease utilizing fossil fuel energy sources sooner rather than later, he warned, urging them to reach no net emissions by 2040. A series of international scientists worked on the IPCC report, which was analyzed base on years of comprehensive research. Gutterres called the report, which serves as a baseline for policymakers, a "survival guide for humanity." The IPCC's findings, detailed in the 37-page report, serve as the foundation for climate negotiations in the Paris Climate Accord. The report found that greenhouse gas emissions have increased courtesy of "unsustainable energy use, land use and land-use change, lifestyles, and patterns of consumption and production." The data indicated that in order for the world to halt surpassing the targeted warming limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit), the globe must reduce emissions in half. And if emissions are not reduced significantly, the warming limit will surpass the 1.5 degree Celsius goal in the coming years, potentially by 2035. President Biden echoed Guterres' sentiment on the limit earlier this month during a sit down interview on "The Daily Show." "If we don't keep the temperature from going above 1.5 degrees Celsius, raised, then we're in real trouble," he said. "That whole generation is damned. Thats not hyperbole. Really truly in trouble." Biden warned the climate crisis remains a larger threat than nuclear warfare during a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in January. Fox News' Kristine Parks contributed to this report.