Turn down the heat: why a 4°C warmer world must be avoided

This report spells out what the world would be like if it warmed by 4 degrees Celsius, which is what scientists are nearly unanimously predicting by the end of the century, without serious policy changes. It provides a snapshot of recent scientific literature and new analyses of likely impacts and risks that would be associated with a 4° Celsius warming within this century, ranging from sea-level rise to increases in tropical cyclone intensity, unprecedented heat waves, severe drought, and major floods in many regions, with serious impacts on ecosystems and associated services.

The report is intended to be a stark reminder that climate change affects everything and that the solutions don’t lie only in climate finance or climate projects but rather in effective risk management and ensuring all our work, all our thinking, is designed with the threat of a 4°C world in mind.