Act on climate change now, top British institutions tell governments

Joint letter by 24 scientific, medical and engineering bodies say mitigation will also bring economic and health benefits

An unprecedented coalition of the UK's most eminent scientific, medical and engineering bodies says immediate action must be taken by governments to avert the worst impacts of climate change.

But the joint communiqui(C), issued by 24 academic and professional institutions, also says that tackling global warming would drive economic progress, benefit the health of millions by cutting air pollution and improve access to energy, water and food. To have a reasonable chance of keeping warming below 2C, the internationally agreed danger limit, the world must end all emissions within the next few decades, the communiqui(C) warns.