11,000 Scientists Declare The World Is In The Middle Of A Climate Emergency

Thousands of scientists have signed a document stating the world is currently in the middle of a climate emergency and we need to act now.

The dramatic warning says if nothing is done to stop the advances of climate change then we will all endure 'untold suffering'.

The document states: "We declare clearly and unequivocally that planet Earth is facing a climate emergency.

"To secure a sustainable future, we must change how we live. [This] entails major transformations in the ways our global society functions and interacts with natural ecosystems.

"The climate crisis has arrived and is accelerating faster than most scientists expected. It is more severe than anticipated, threatening natural ecosystems and the fate of humanity."

The document has been organised to recognise the 40th anniversary of the first world climate conference all the way back in 1979. The signatories, more than 11,000, hail from 153 countries around the globe.

One of those was population growth, which is around 200,000 people per day, and the need to be mindful about how that increase will impact resources in the future.

"If you have a rising human population, there's the need for more food and the need for more energy," said Thomas Newsome, one of the paper's authors and a lecturer at the University of Sydney.

"There's been little movements globally in terms of tackling the issue of climate change and so our major goal was to really come up with a new and broad set of graphical indicators to illustrate both the impacts that the humans are having on the climate and also the negative feedback loops associated with climate change."

Another area to look at is leaving all remaining fossil fuels in the ground and 'carefully pursuing effective negative emissions', such as 'enhancing natural systems'.

Some of the scientists have been encouraged by the global appetite for reducing the impact of climate change.

Marine biologist Charlie Veron says young people should make as much noise as possible, adding: "They are facing a world that will be absolutely horrible place."

The message will no doubt ring true for farmers who are grappling with a pretty rough future, with drought impacting on their will to live.

It will now be up to world leaders on whether they accept the scientists' message.