00:50 Thousands of Scientists Declare 'Climate Emergency' More than 11,000 scientists from 153 countries have just declared a "climate emergency." Here’s why, as well as what can be done about it.

At a Glance A broad coalition of scientists has signed the dire warning on climate change.

"The fate of humanity" is threatened, the statement says.

The paper lays out several "vital changes" to track climate change and areas to target for improvement. An alliance of more than 11,000 scientists have signed their names to a research statement declaring a global climate emergency that could one day make it impossible to live in many parts of the world.

"The climate crisis has arrived and is accelerating faster than most scientists expected ," reads the statement, published Tuesday in the journal BioScience. "It is more severe than anticipated, threatening natural ecosystems and the fate of humanity. Especially worrisome are potential irreversible climate tipping points and nature's reinforcing feedbacks (atmospheric, marine and terrestrial) that could lead to a catastrophic 'hothouse Earth,' well beyond the control of humans. These climate chain reactions could cause significant disruptions to ecosystems, society and economies, potentially making large areas of Earth uninhabitable."

The paper lays out 14 "vital signs" that track the impacts of climate change over the past four decades, including carbon dioxide levels, sea ice mass, sea levels, ocean water temperatures and extreme weather events.

"Globally, ice has been rapidly disappearing, evidenced by declining trends in minimum summer Arctic sea ice, Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, and glacier thickness worldwide. Ocean heat content, ocean acidity, sea level, area burned in the United States and extreme weather and associated damage costs have all been trending upward," the paper says. "Climate change is predicted to greatly affect marine, freshwater and terrestrial life, from plankton and corals to fishes and forests. These issues highlight the urgent need for action."

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It also lists six specific areas that should be targeted for change in order to curb the effects of global warming and climate change, including energy, pollution, food consumption, habitat loss and other impacts on nature, economic policies and population growth.

The paper was published on the 40th anniversary of the first world climate conference, which was held in Geneva in 1979. It is the first time such a large group of scientists have labeled climate change an "emergency," according to the Washington Post.

"This is a document that establishes a clear record of the broad consensus among most scientists active at this point in history that the climate crisis is real, and is a major, even existential, threat to human societies, human well-being and biodiversity," Jesse Bellemare, an associate professor of biology at Smith College and one of the scientists who signed the document, told the Post.

The scientists called on world leaders to come together to create policies that address climate change.

"Like other organisms, we are not adapted to recognize far-reaching environmental threats beyond our immediate surroundings," Maria Abate, a biology professor at Simmons College in Boston who signed the statement, told the Post. "The reported vital signs of our global activity and climate responses give us a tangible, evidence-based report card that I hope will help our culture to develop a broader awareness more quickly to slow this climate crisis."

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