Scientists opinion

Biology and life sciences

Life science organizations have outlined the dangers climate change pose to wildlife.

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  American Association of Wildlife Veterinarians^[81]
  
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  American Institute of Biological Sciences. In October 2009, the leaders of 18 US scientific societies and organizations sent an open letter to the United States Senate reaffirming the scientific consensus that climate change is occurring and is primarily caused by human activities. The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) adopted this letter as their official position statement.^[82][83] The letter goes on to warn of predicted impacts on the United States such as sea level rise and increases in extreme weather events, water scarcity, heat waves, wildfires, and the disturbance of biological systems. It then advocates for a dramatic reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases.^[84]
  
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  American Society for Microbiology^[85]
  
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  Australian Coral Reef Society^[86]
  
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  Institute of Biology (UK)^[87]
  
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  Society of American Foresters issued two position statements pertaining to climate change in which they cite the IPCC^[88] and the UNFCCC.^[89]
  
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  The Wildlife Society (international)^[90]
  

Human health

A number of health organizations have warned about the numerous negative health effects of global warming

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  American Academy of Pediatrics^[91]
  
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  American College of Preventive Medicine^[92]
  
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  American Medical Association^[93]
  
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  American Public Health Association^[94]
  
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  Australian Medical Association in 2004^[95] and in 2008^[96]
  
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  World Federation of Public Health Associations^[97]
  
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  World Health Organization^[98]
  

There is now widespread agreement that the Earth is warming, due to emissions of greenhouse gases caused by human activity. It is also clear that current trends in energy use, development, and population growth will lead to continuing – and more severe – climate change.
The changing climate will inevitably affect the basic requirements for maintaining health: clean air and water, sufficient food and adequate shelter. Each year, about 800,000 people die from causes attributable to urban air pollution, 1.8 million from diarrhoea resulting from lack of access to clean water supply, sanitation, and poor hygiene, 3.5 million from malnutrition and approximately 60,000 in natural disasters. A warmer and more variable climate threatens to lead to higher levels of some air pollutants, increase transmission of diseases through unclean water and through contaminated food, to compromise agricultural production in some of the least developed countries, and increase the hazards of extreme weather.