"The world has received the clearest message yet on how humans are changing the climate. Delegates from 195 countries gathered in Copenhagen this week to add their seal of approval to a 100-page "synthesis report". It?s the final installment in a four-part series from the UN?s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The synthesis report condenses the IPCC?s three other major reports on different aspects of climate change into one concise document. While that means some parts of it may sound familiar, there are some new and different sections as well. Here?s our assessment of what?s new, as well as a look at the report?s main conclusions...Warming continues unabated...A stronger message on human influence...Acidifying oceans, sea level rise and ice melt...Consequences of inaction...Counting the costs...What happens now?.....Today?s report isn?t a rulebook. It?s designed to act as a guide for policymakers on how to avoid the most serious climate change risks, should we collectively decide that?s worth doing. Where we go from here rests largely on what level of risk we?re willing to expose ourselves to. As today?s report says: "Decision making about climate change is influenced by how individuals and organizations perceive risks and uncertainties and take them into account." However, the report does clearly and concisely lay out scientists? best understanding of the science of climate change, in a document that will be closely scrutinised by policymakers. However the politics of climate progress, there can be little doubt that a comprehensive assessment of the science on climate change is now firmly on the table...."