The Associated Press: Scientists try to mitigate climate change effects

POZNAN, Poland (AP) — Scientists studying the changing nature of the global climate say they have completed one crucial task — proving beyond a doubt that global warming is real.

Now they have to figure out what to do about it.

Scientific warnings of potential catastrophe have been the backdrop for talks among more than 10,000 delegates and environmentalists negotiating a treaty to control the emission of greenhouse gases, which have grown by 70 percent since 1970. The treaty would replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

Last year, the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which collected the work of more than 2,000 scientists, said climate change is "unequivocal, is already happening, and is caused by human activity."

"The skeptics are doing a good job because they are making us present ironclad proof," said Lawrence E. Buja, a climate change researcher for the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado.

But since that battle is over, he said scientists need to move on and look at the detailed impact of climate change.