U.N. doomsday report warns of ‘climate time-bomb’ unless globe ditches fossil fuels

The world is approaching a point of no return to combat climate change and prevent irreversible damage caused by global warming, a report released Monday by the United Nations concludes.

The warning from the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is reminiscent of past doomsday rhetoric calling for immediate and extreme action that often draws skepticism from critics over the urgency of the problem.

“Humanity is on thin ice — and that ice is melting fast,” said U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. “The climate time-bomb is ticking. But today’s IPCC report is a how-to guide to defuse the climate time-bomb. It is a survival guide for humanity.”