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Source: National Post: Published: Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Scientists urge climate summit to commit to deep emissions cuts

Greenhouse gases must be cut by at least 50% to stop rise in temperature

Margaret Munro, CanWest News Service

Excerpt Below:
""There is no time to lose," says the "Bali Declaration by Scientists," to be released Thursday at the United Nations climate conference where delegates from almost 200 countries are meeting to hammer out an international framework for reducing emissions.

The scientists are calling for cuts of at least 50% in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to try keep the rise in the global temperature below 2C.

While 2C does not sound like much, researchers say warming above that threshold would be enough to trigger mass species extinctions and accelerate melting of polar ice sheets, which could lead to a seven-metre rise in sea level in coming centuries. The declaration says humanity has a "window" of as little as 10 years to turn the situation around."