Global warming temperature rise

A couple sit on Brighton beach - in Caroline Lucas' constituency - earlier this week during unseasonably hot weather (PA)

“If we do not act now, there is even a 1 in 10 risk of going beyond 6C by 2100. We would surely not accept such a high risk of disaster in other realms of society. As a comparison, such a 1 in 10 probability is the equivalent of tolerating about 10, 000 airplane crashes every day worldwide, ” it says.

The Earth League researchers, who include economists Jeffrey Sachs and Lord Stern as well as world renown climate scientists from Europe, Brazil and India, warn that time is running out for a climate deal that binds countries to a process of “deep decarbonisation” where fossil fuels are largely replaced with cleaner sources of sustainable energy by 2050.

In pictures: Changing climate around the world

“2015 is potentially one of the most decisive years in modern human history on earth when it comes to determining our future prospects for wellbeing and prosperity for 9 to 10 billion people over the next century, ” said Johan Rockstrom of the Stockholm Resilience Centre in Sweden who chaired the Earth League group.

“The key element of this statement is that a window is still open, but just barely. There is still an opportunity to make the transition to a safe, reasonably-stable climate in the future, and the decisions in 2015 may be decisive for that opportunity, ” Dr Rockstrom said.

Economist Jeffrey Sachs is among the 17 'Earth League' researchers (Getty)

“If we follow the current trajectory of ‘business as usual’, it would have a one-in-ten probability of leading to 6C by the end of this century, and 6C, I think even the climate sceptics would agree, is place the world does not want to be in, ” he said.

“It’s a place we have no evidence whatsoever of being capable of supporting the modern world as we know it. A one in ten probability of a catastrophic outcome is a very high number, in fact it is so high it would be equivalent to accepting 10, 000 fatal aircraft crashes every day.

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