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Climate change is accelerating but can be mitigated, a new international report finds. A coal-burning plant in Gelsenkircher, Germany, lets off steam.

(Martin Meissner, Associated Press, File)

Let's put aside the misleading idea that human-caused climate change is not real. A trio of major new international scientific assessments makes it evident that such global warming is accelerating and that "many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia." That was in Part 1 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report released last fall.

Let's also put aside the head-in-the-sand notion that urgent action is unwarranted, that scientific uncertainty about the complex interactions of Earth's ecosystems is great enough that we don't really know how all of this will shake out. Scientists around the world have "high confidence" that climate-change impacts regionally will hurt people on every continent, whether from reduced food output, rising ocean levels, flooding, mudslides, drought, decreased drinking water availability, the spread of diseases and other impacts. These impacts are already being seen, as Part II of the report, released two weeks ago, revealed.

Finally, let's stop thinking that, well, there's nothing to be done since these changes operate on such a monumental scale. Human beings survived Ice Ages and previous warmings, this thinking goes. They'll survive this one. Yes, but at what cost? People will die from the impacts. Others will be uprooted. Conflicts are likely. (New research published recently at Smithsonian.com suggests Genghis Khan was aided in his 13th-century predations by a warmer, rainier climate that promoted the growth of steppe grasses that kept his warriors' horses fed.) And there is the potential for less likely but potentially catastrophic climate-change events, such as the sudden collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheets.

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That's why the final report, released Sunday, focuses on creating insurance policies against the worst impacts. There is time, the report suggests, to keep global warming from hitting critical levels and there are emerging technologies -- in building and car design and alternative energy production -- that will make it easier to do so without huge economic disruptions. That's why Ohio needs to keep investing in renewable energy technologies despite its coal and natural gas resources.

Reaching true international consensus on a workable action plan and treaty is still challenging in the near term, but a renewed focus on national policies that encourage innovation and long-term planning for an alternative energy future is critical – for the United States and for the world.