One terrifying prospect is that changes in weather patterns could drive down the output of the world’s economies by an amount equivalent to up to £6 trillion (US$11.3 trillion) a year by 2050, almost the entire output of the European Union.
With world temperatures on course to rise by two to three degrees in 50 years, rainfall could be catastrophically reduced in some of the world’s poorest countries, while others grapple with floods from melting glaciers. The result could be the largest migration of refugees in history.
These problems will be "difficult or impossible to reverse" unless the world acts quickly, Sir Nicholas will warn, in a 700-page report that is expected to transform world attitudes to climate change.
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