Scientist have been sounding the alarm about global warming for decades, but the report hit a chord: Time is running out before serious and possibly irreversible effects are felt.

Debate on the causes and effects will continue, but money managers say this stake in the ground gives investors a concrete guide to understand how climate change will affect their investments.

“When you lay out what the challenge is, you’re in a better position to attack it,” said Stephen M. Liberatore, a fixed-income portfolio manager at Nuveen who manages $9 billion with an environmental, social and governance mandate.