Climate change "threatens our planet, our only home", the co-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has said.

A report by the IPCC found that temperatures were likely to rise by between 0.3 and 4.8 degrees Celsius (0.5 to 8.6 Fahrenheit) by the late 21st century.

The low end of the range would only be achieved if governments sharply cut greenhouse gas emissions. "It will require substantial and sustained reduction of greenhouse emission", said Thomas Stocker.

The IPCC report warned that global mean sea levels could rise by between 26 and 82 cm (10 to 32 inches) by the late 21st century, driven up by melting ice and an expansion of water as it warms, in a threat to coastal cities worldwide.