More than 3,000 scientists on Friday called for a far bigger global push to protect people and nature from the effects of a heating planet, even as researchers estimated funding to adapt to climate change has dropped because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement, the scientists — including five Nobel laureates — warned that a failure to respond to rising climate risks as governments try to revive their economies from coronavirus woes would have severe consequences, especially for the poorest.
"Unless we step up and adapt now, the results will be increasing poverty, water shortages, agricultural losses and soaring levels of migration with an enormous toll on human life," the scientists from nearly 120 countries wrote ahead of a global summit on adaptation next week.