New IPCC report pushes for action on climate change

The presentation of the document will take place next Monday, February 28 at 10:00, peninsular time

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has launched two weeks of online meetings to approve the new report, which is scheduled for publication on February 28. The document collects and analyzes the latest scientific data on impacts, adaptation and vulnerability to climate change, also highlighting that climate hazards and risks will increase with global warming. The report also includes issues such as sustainable development, justice and equity, as well as measures needed to increase resilience.

According to the August report of Working Group I of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), never before in human history have large-scale climate changes been seen as those being suffered lately. The world’s leading climate scientists warn that due to record levels of greenhouse gases and corresponding high temperatures the world is entering uncharted territory.

The situation has worsened in many respects since the last assessment in 2014. Earlier this month, NOAA noted that the years 2013-2021 are among the ten warmest years since data are available.

According to Kaisa Kosonen, climate expert at Greenpeace Nordic Countries:

“The reality of the climate crisis has become more personal and political than ever, while inequalities are becoming increasingly obvious. Most of the Global North received the COVID-19 booster dose last year, yet only about 8% of people on the African continent have the full COVID-19 vaccination schedule. At a time when we are constantly experiencing multiple crises, crises that interact and precipitate with each other and the corresponding injustices, it is incredibly valuable for the global scientific community to come together to assess the situation we find ourselves in and what we can do to combat these interconnected challenges.

We believe the report will show the extent to which warming has increased climate risks and how adaptability limits are already being reached, which has a disproportionate impact on communities that are already vulnerable and least responsible for the crisis. The hard data included in the report will make the lack of action and commitment of the major emitters more evident and will increase calls for justice.

As we have already seen, we live in an interconnected system from which no one is spared. Climate impacts are already being felt around the world. To avoid the worst-case scenario, we need emissions to be cut urgently and climate justice done. We need to invest in adaptation, improve equity, compensate and insure against loss and damage, and foster resilient development pathways in which everyone can participate. None of this will happen if the big emitters don’t curb their emissions in line with the scientific data. If they don’t, hopefully they will be forced to do so very soon and I hope the IPCC will make it impossible to ignore the reality of the most vulnerable population.”

The authorised report will generate additional pressure to address the issues underpinning the debate on finance, adaptation and loss and damage: equity and climate justice. Taking action in line with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C warming limit is critical to overcoming interconnected crises. These issues, of particular importance to already affected communities, are likely to center the narrative until COP 27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, later this year.

Topics to be included in the report

• What effects warming already has on the population and the world in which we live (including ecosystems and their services), both with current levels of warming and sea level rise and with those committed.

• How climate impacts and risks will increase as warming increases, and how different development pathways exacerbate or mitigate those risks.

• How and to what extent impacts and risks can be managed and reduced, taking into account adaptation limits and the losses and damages that occur when those limits are exceeded.

• Who is particularly vulnerable to climate impacts and risks and why, and how those vulnerabilities can be reduced and resilience increased.

• What is known about the great unknowns, that is, effects with very serious consequences and whose probability is low or unknown.

• Solution frameworks that focus specifically on climate-resilient development alternatives.

• The role of social justice, equity and different knowledge in climate-resilient development, broadening the consideration given to certain aspects of climate justice.

• The special situation in which coastal communities find themselves, as well as in cities and settlements by the sea.

The report of Working Group II will be followed by another IPCC report in April, the contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report, which will assess ways in which climate change can be mitigated. A synthesis report (SYR) on the work of Working Groups I, II and III, as well as previous special reports, will be published in October. It will provide an overview of the state of knowledge on climate change science from the Fifth Assessment Report and frame governments’ deliberations on how to “re-examine and strengthen” their climate targets for 2030 by the end of 2022, how to deliver on climate finance and how to address loss and damage.

Source: Co-responsible