The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, just released its new report on global warming. It reinforces the conclusion that global warming is predominantly caused by human activity and sets an upper limit for the carbon emissions the world’s economies can create.

“It’s a relatively Herculean effort,” Joe Casola, with the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, says of the report. “This information is important for countries and the international discussion about what to do on climate change.”

It provides a shared jumping off point for the powers that be, in government, and business.

Mindy Lubber, the president of Ceres, a group that works with businesses on sustainability issues, says the report will help them make smart decisions for their companies and for  their investors.

“This report, after more than five years of study, and more than 800 of the best minds worldwide, couldn’t have been more clear that climate change is happening, that it’s disrupting all parts of our global economy,” she says.

And that we will all need to act sooner rather than later.