5 things to know about the new UN report on climate change

GENEVA (AP) — A U.N.-appointed panel published a report summarizing the latest authoritative scientific information about global warming. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s independent experts agreed in the report released Monday that almost all of the warming that has occurred since pre-industrial times was caused by the release of heat-trapping gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. They concluded that the world will likely warm by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius in the 2030s. The report concludes that wild weather events are expected to worsen. The panel also found that so-called tipping points are “low likelihood,” though they cannot be ruled out. Its best-case scenarios assume a negative rate of emissions can be achieved after 2050 but doesn’t explain how.