Emissions must fall to net zero this century, UN says

A draft guide from the United Nations for policymakers says greenhouse gas emissions may need to fall to a net zero this century in order to slow climate change.

The report, however, offers little advice on how a nation should cut those emissions, Reuters reports.

{mosads}Roughly 500 delegates are working with scientists and government experts in Copenhagen to edit the report, which is set to be released on Sunday.

The report is meant to help guide policymakers when setting national targets for a global climate accord that countries will work to reach at a U.N. summit in Paris next year.

The U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is crafting the report, which according to a draft, says rising emissions will have to fall fast — and soon — to stave off what could be “irreversible damage.”

“Somewhere after the middle of this century human-caused emissions will have to come down to a net zero,” Achim Steiner, head of the U.N. Environment Programme, told Reuters.