Everything to Note About The New IPCC Report
Most of us now know that climate change is real. From carbon dioxide data recorded at the Mauna Loa Observatory, through to shrinking ice caps and retreating glaciers, there is now a growing body of observations that highlight the need for immediate action from all actors present within human societies. And now, the release of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report is the latest domino added to the run.
History of the IPCC
Born in 1988, the IPCC was established to inform policymakers of the latest scientific discoveries on climate change, in the hopes that they would be incorporated into policies and legislation. The brainchild of the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organisation, it aims to provide comprehensive reviews on the social, economic and environmental impacts of climate change as well as putting forth prospective response strategies for the mitigation and adaptation of climate change. Since its conception, the IPCC has delivered five critical scientific reports — known as Assessment Reports — with the sixth and latest Report having just been released by the world’s leading climate scientists.
The Key Takeaways of the New IPCC Report
Granted, the very fact that the Report is thousands of pages long is enough to deter even the most devout of environment enthusiasts. But — as noted by a recent Greenpeace article — the key points raised by the Report can be summed up in a few short paragraphs:
Number 1: Previous estimations of climate-related risks have not been accurate enough
Previously, climate scientists had underestimated the effects climate change will have on Earth’s ecosystems and Earth’s people. It is now becoming increasingly acute that climate change will have much quicker and more widespread effects at much larger magnitudes.
Number 2: We are not adapting fast enough
Current adaptations to climate hazards have been too slow to manifest, leading to more people becoming vulnerable to such events. Countries with higher vulnerability have had mortality rates that are 15 times greater in this decade when compared to less vulnerable countries.
Number 3: We are not safe-guarding our Earth enough
To develop climate-resilience on a scale that is meaningful, the Report asserts that we must act to protect 30% of Earth’s surface, covering both lands and seas. It is through the maintenance of the inherent biodiversity present within Earth’s ecosystems that we can help cultivate self-sustenance and begin to heal the damages climate change has inflicted upon Earth’s occupants.
Number 4: The 1.5 °C limit is not ambitious enough
Even if we do achieve the target of limiting Earth’s global mean temperature to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels (which, in all honesty, seems highly unlikely given our love affair with fossil fuels), climate change will still affect us. The damages that our environment, our economies and our societies will face are yet to be properly incorporated into governance, and where incorporation has happened, many of these policies and legislation have not borne the fruits necessary for a climate restoration. As noted in an article by The Irish Times, if we are to even begin attempting to curb temperatures to below 1.5°C, we must act right now.
Number 5: Incremental action is not good enough
Pledges to reduce certain emissions by a certain year, or promises to increase the percentage of renewable energy use by a certain decade are tiny steps that, when summed up, do not equate to a meaningful response to climate change. We need larger, more impactful transitions in energy, transport, food and agriculture — transitions that do not shy away from the enormous task at hand.
It may be that a few more Assessment Reports will need to be published before any meaningful climate governance occurs. Until then, I guess we sit back and watch a DiCaprio movie that’s far away from the prospect of a dead Earth. Don’t Look Up, for example.
