Scientists urge action on global warming

VALENCIA, Spain, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Scientists meeting in Spain warn of a rapid rise in sea levels and the extinction of more species if governments fail to act on global warming.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a U.N. agency, met in Valencia, Spain, to discuss climate change and options for mitigating the rise of carbon dioxide, the BBC reported Saturday.

"This is the strongest report yet by the IPCC, but (it) says that there is still time to act," said Bill Hare, an Australian climate scientist.

The IPCC report called climate change "unequivocal" but said the impact of greenhouse gases could be reduced at a reasonable cost, the BBC reported.

The report released Friday warned climate change could bring "abrupt and irreversible" impacts, including the fast melting of glaciers, the extinction of species, the destruction of coral reefs and the ruination of crops in Africa, The New York Times reported.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon predicted the world is on the "verge of a catastrophe" if countries do not act to reduce carbon dioxide emissions the scientists blamed for global warming.

The report is part of the preparation for next month's climate change summit in Bali, Indonesia. Harlan Watson, the U.S. State Department's senior negotiator on climate change, said the meeting is only the beginning of a process of working out a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol.