The Royal Society has posted a message on its website calling for immediate action: “Scientists from the world’s leading industrial countries have today warned of dire consequences, particularly for developing countries, unless action is taken to adapt to threats to food and water supplies now and in the future.”

Martin Rees, President of the Royal Society, elaborates: “Food and water shortages are now a dangerous reality particularly in many developing countries. In the coming years, they will be aggravated by rising populations, and climate change. These threats must be properly assessed and solutions identified if we are to avoid costly mistakes from investing in technologies and infrastructure that do not take climate change into account.”

Scientists believe they have found part of the solution. In one of the organisations sternest admonishments yet, experts are clear; the world must have a defined plan to fit power stations with the technological capability to capture carbon dioxide to prevent ‘catastrophic’ climate change, and the leading developed nations must act within a year. Britain’s support for the facilities has been blasted as ‘woefully inadequate’ so far; this technology alone could cut global emissions
by up to 50 per cent, experts claim.

The stark message is that those in power must act with urgency; halve global emissions by 2050. Scientists believe this reduction will not be possible unless huge deposits of carbon from coal-fired power stations are not captured and stored, in a process that separates and liquefies the gases.

“Coal will continue to be one of the world’s primary energy sources for the next 50 years,” continues Rees. “If coal burning power plants and industries continue to pump out carbon dioxide unabated we face a growing risk of triggering a dangerous and irreversible change in the climate. Techniques for carbon capture and storage must therefore be
developed urgently.”

The climate is likely to rise between 0.2 and 0.4C in the next two decades.

“So much is at stake that current efforts are quite inadequate. The nations at the G8 summit should commit themselves to a much expanded and coordinated programme. The sooner this technology can be proven and widely adopted, and annual carbon dioxide emissions stopped from rising, the lower the risk of catastrophic climate change,” concludes Rees.

The announcement comes a day after Japan’s prime minister, Yasuo Fukuda, pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60% to 80% by 2050.