Climate Report Warns of Drought, Disease

A big coal power plant of provider E.ON is pictured in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, in this Feb. 22, 2007 file photo. EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Tuesday, March 6, 2007 the world was watching the decisions European leaders would make at the summit on Thursday and Friday in Brussels to turn itself into a low-carbon economy in an effort to free itself from a growing dependence on imported energy and to tackle climate change caused by releases of carbon dioxide. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner) (Martin Meissner - AP)

The hardest-hit continents are likely to be Africa and Asia, with major harm also coming to small islands and some aspects of ecosystems near the poles. North America, Europe and Australia are predicted to suffer the fewest of the harmful effects.

"In most parts of the world and most segments of populations, lifestyles are likely to change as a result of climate change," the draft report said. "Net valuations of benefits vs. costs will vary, but they are more likely to be negative if climate change is substantial and rapid, rather than if it is moderate and gradual."

This report _ considered by some scientists the "emotional heart" of climate change research _ focuses on how global warming alters the planet and life here, as opposed to the more science-focused report by the same group last month.

"This is the story. This is the whole play. This is how it's going to affect people. The science is one thing. This is how it affects me, you and the person next door," said University of Victoria climate scientist Andrew Weaver.

Many _ not all _ of those effects can be prevented, the report says, if within a generation the world slows down its emissions of carbon dioxide and if the level of greenhouse gases sticking around in the atmosphere stabilizes. If that's the case, the report says "most major impacts on human welfare would be avoided; but some major impacts on ecosystems are likely to occur."

The United Nations-organized network of 2,000 scientists was established in 1988 to give regular assessments of the Earth's environment. The document issued last month in Paris concluded that scientists are 90 percent certain that people are the cause of global warming and that warming will continue for centuries.

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On the Net:

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: http://www.ipcc-wg2.org/