Blair warns of 'unsustainable' warming trend

LONDON - The threat posed by climate change may be greater than previously thought, and global warming is advancing at an unsustainable rate, Prime Minister Tony Blair said in a report published Monday.

The government-commissioned report collates evidence presented at a conference on climate change hosted by Britain's Meteorological Office last year. It says scientists now have "greater clarity and reduced uncertainty" about the impacts of climate change.

In a foreword, Blair said it was clear that "the risks of climate change may well be greater than we thought."

"It is now plain that the emission of greenhouse gases, associated with industrialization and economic growth from a world population that has increased six-fold in 200 years, is causing global warming at a rate that is unsustainable," he wrote.

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The head of the British Antarctic Survey, Chris Rapley, warned in the report that the huge west Antarctic ice sheet may be starting to disintegrate, an event that could raise sea levels by 16 feet. 

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