UN climate panel’s ‘dire warning’ hits realpolitik as Putin exploits an energy-starved world

The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change called Monday for “urgent action” in its latest report, prodding countries to hasten emissions reductions even as events in Ukraine threaten to submerge the global-warming agenda.

The IPCC Working Group II report said that climate change is running ahead of global adaptation efforts, creating “dangerous and widespread disruption in nature” that could be irreversible unless action is taken quickly.

“This report is a dire warning about the consequences of inaction,” said IPCC chair Hoesung Lee in a statement. “It shows that climate change is a grave and mounting threat to our wellbeing and a healthy planet. Our actions today will shape how people adapt and nature responds to increasing climate risks.”