Humanity's fight against climate change could become a lot harder in the coming decades

Research from the universities of Waikato and Northern Arizona has identified a "temperature tipping point" - where plants' ability to capture and store carbon dioxide decreases, as temperatures rise.

Waikato University Professor Louis Schipper says it's this process that's been saving us from the bigger effects of green house gas emissions, and climate change.

He says it's surprising to find this tipping point is likely to be reached in the coming decades - as opposed to the distant future.