IPCC: We’ve never been better equipped to solve climate challenge

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says there are feasible and effective options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change.

The IPCC gave the options in a press statement on Monday following the release of the synthesis report — the final installment of the sixth assessment report.

The summary report which summarised findings from three expert assessments published between 2021 and 2022 on the physical science, impacts, and mitigation of climate change, provided clarity for policymakers on further actions to slash emissions.

The report said as warming increases, it escalates hazards such as intense heatwaves, floods, and food crises, and noting that when combined all of these with other adverse effects, it would be difficult to manage.

It warned that emissions must be halved by the mid-2030s if the world is to have any chance of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

“Mainstreaming effective and equitable climate action will not only reduce losses and damages for nature and people, but it will also provide wider benefits,” Hoesung Lee, IPCC chair said.

“This synthesis report underscores the urgency of taking more ambitious action and shows that, if we act now, we can still secure a liveable sustainable future for all.”

The statement said the report brings into focus the losses and damages already being experienced which would continue into the future, hitting the most vulnerable people and ecosystems hard.

Aditi Mukherji, one of the authors of the synthesis report, said it is important that the right action is taken to deliver climate justice to the most vulnerable.

“Climate justice is crucial because those who have contributed least to climate change are being disproportionately affected,” Mukherji said.

“Almost half of the world’s population lives in regions that are highly vulnerable to climate change. In the last decade, deaths from floods, droughts, and storms were 15 times higher in highly vulnerable regions.”

‘A CLIMATE TIME BOMB TICKING’

Antonio Guterres, UN secretary-general said the “climate time bomb is ticking” as he warned about the bed to slash emissions following the new assessment by scientists.

In a recorded address, Guterres described the IPCC’s sixth synthesis report as a survival guide for humanity and asked developed countries to commit to reaching net zero emissions by 2040.

“The climate time bomb is ticking. But the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a how-to guide to defuse that time bomb,” he said.

“Humans are responsible for virtually all global heating over the last 200 years and concentrations of carbon dioxide are at their highest in at least two million years.

“Yet, the IPCC shows that we have never been better equipped to solve the climate challenge. But we must move into warp-speed climate action now.

“The 1.5-degree limit of global warming agreed in the Paris Agreement is achievable, but it will take a quantum leap. Every country and every sector must massively fast-track climate efforts.

“In short, our world needs climate action on all fronts – everything, everywhere, all at once.”

Also, John Kerry, US climate envoy said: “We have the tools to stave off and reduce the risks of the worst impacts of the climate crisis, but we must take advantage of this moment to act now.”