The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations body tasked with providing scientific evidence and consensus on climate change and its implications for decision-makers and the public, has just issued its latest, long-awaited report.
The challenge it presents to all of us is huge.
To avoid severe economic and social shocks and protect essential ecosystems, we urgently need to limit the increase in global temperature to within 1.5 degrees Celsius of the pre-industrial level. Achieving the required reductions in greenhouse gas emissions will require boldness, creativity and some hard choices. But Costa Rica's experience shows that, in the long run, what is gained far outweighs the sacrifices for all.