A review of thousands of studies published over 21 years found "overwhelming" and growing consensus among scientists that humans are mostly to blame for global warming, its authors said Thursday. This contradicts a widely held view that scientists are deeply divided on the topic -- a misconception that complicates efforts to win public backing for climate policy, the authors wrote in the journal Environmental Research Letters. "An accurate perception of the degree of scientific consensus is an essential element to public support for climate policy," they wrote.

By Environment Correspondent Alister Doyle OSLO (Reuters) - The habitats of many common plants and animals will shrink dramatically this century unless governments act quickly to cut rising greenhouse gas emissions, scientists said on Sunday after studying 50,000 species around the world. The scientists from Britain, Australia and Colombia said plants, amphibians and reptiles were most vulnerable as global temperatures rise and rainfall patterns change.

WASHINGTON - The old saying that "what goes up must come down" doesn't apply to carbon dioxide pollution in the air, which just hit an unnerving milestone. The chief greenhouse gas was measured Thursday at 400 parts per million in Hawaii, a monitoring site that sets the world's benchmark. It's a symbolic mark that scientists and environmentalists have been anticipating for years.

The Japanese government has decided to promote a new framework for pursuing cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, under which Japan will claim reductions achieved in emerging countries in Asia and Africa as a result of technical assistance provided by Japan, sources close to the issue said Sunday. The move comes as Japan faces difficulties in reducing greenhouse gas emissions domestically due to a major expansion in thermal power generation following the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi complex.