There are three types of events of nature that affect planet Earth. First, there are celestial events such as an asteroid crashing to the Earth from outer space. It is thought that this is what caused the Ice Age to drastically change animal and plant life. Second, there are natural disasters which are unpredictable and emanate from time to time. They devastate parts of the world, for example, the earthquake that destroyed Port Royal. Third, there are natural phenomena that are made more intensive and frequent by the action of mankind.

The 7.2-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Haiti which was vividly felt in Jamaica yesterday morning is a timely wake-up call, no pun intended.

The scientific evidence is now beyond doubt that the action of mankind is accelerating climate change. Most people are aware of this but are complacent and assume that the effects are a long way off into the future. But the intensification and more frequent occurrence of natural disasters such as hurricanes, forest fires and droughts, against the backdrop of a steady rise in global warming, should not be ignored or dismissed as random or acts of God.

The comprehensive assessment of climate science published last week by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a code red warming to the world.

It is the sixth such report since 1988 and is the most ominous. It was eight years in preparation, compiling and collating the scientific research of hundreds of experts. The incontrovertible evidence-based conclusion is that it is human activity that is “unequivocally” the cause of rapid changes to the climate, causing sea level rises, melting polar ice, contraction of glaciers, unprecedented heatwaves, massive floods, and prolonged droughts.

Temperatures have now risen by approximately 1.1 degrees Celsius since the period 1850 to 1900 but all is not lost. The report offers hope, suggesting that stabilising the climate at 1.5 degrees Celsius was still possible. However, even that level of heating would still result in increasing heatwaves, more intense storms, and more serious droughts and floods. What must be avoided is escalating to 2 degrees Celsius, which is possible if mankind continues on the current trajectory.

These findings must galvanise the international community to take urgent and serious action to transform global economic activity to a low-carbon basis. Governments from 197 countries will meet this November in Glasgow, Scotland for absolutely vital United Nations climate negotiations, commonly known as COP26.

This requires that all countries come to the COP26 conference with new, far-reaching proposals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to a level that will limit global heating to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

This report will be followed next year by two further reports that will focus on the impacts of the climate crisis and the potential solutions.

As Britain’s COP26 President Mr Alok Sharma said last week: “We can’t afford to wait two years, five years, 10 years; this is the moment. Unless nations “act now, we will unfortunately be out of time”.

Jamaica, as a very vulnerable small island developing state, must make its voice heard at that conference and beyond.