A scientific report commissioned by the Vatican addresses the need to take action with respect to the impacts on glacial ice melt, as well as the other effects, from greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activity.The report prepared by a group of scientists declares in part:
“We call on all people and nations to recognise the serious and potentially irreversible impacts of global warming caused by the anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants, and by changes in forests, wetlands, grasslands, and other land uses. We appeal to all nations to develop and implement, without delay, effective and fair policies to reduce the causes and impacts of climate change on communities and ecosystems, including mountain glaciers and their watersheds, aware that we all live in the same home.”
In a call to action the report states:
“All nations must focus on a rapid transition to renewable energy sources and other strategies to reduce CO2 emissions. Nations should also avoid removal of carbon sinks by stopping deforestation, and should strengthen carbon sinks by reforestation of degraded lands. They also need to develop and deploy technologies that draw down excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. These actions must be accomplished within a few decades.”
The report also calls for preparing to adapt to those changes which are inevitable and notes that analysis of the changes that are coming is needed in order to understand what must be done to implement methods of adaptation.