Britain urges global action to tackle climate change

London, Nov 18 (UNI) Britain has given a ''clarion call for global action'' to tackle the scourge of climate change in the wake of a devastating declaration that seas were turning acids due to increasing pollution.

Prime Minister Gordan Brown said the Earth was heading for a warmer age at a quickening pace by announcing that he wanted to introduce bigger long-term cuts in carbon emissions than had been previously planned.

He would be asking environmental experts to consider whether the UK's existing targets for reducing carbon emissions could be extended.

Environmental campaigners and opposition, however, claimed that the government would have to reconsider its policies in the light of the warnings in the report.

Greenpeace spokesman Ben Stewart said the IPCC's report should be ringing alarm bells.

''When Mr Brown reads it, he should immediately drop plans for new runways and new coal-fired power stations in the country,'' The Independent quoted him as saying.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) yesterday stated that pollution that caused global warming was expected to disrupt the web of life of the oceans and make climate change worse.

The report also predicted that nearly a third of the world's species could be driven to extinction as the world warms up, and harvests would be cut dramatically across the world.

Liberal Democrats leader Chris Huhne said the report emphasised the demand for action at Bali. He said, ''The industrial countries have to take the lead because they are responsible for 70 per cent of the carbon that has been emitted, and every extra ounce of carbon has a life of 100 years in the atmosphere.'' UNI