The IPCC calls for cutting emissions and fossil fuels as priority measures for the climate
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Today at 2 pm, in Geneva, the IPCC “Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report AR6” (Sixth Assessment Report), i.e. the intergovernmental panel of experts on climate change. In recent years, the “IPCC report” has been cited to underline the urgency of taking action against climate change, not without some confusion about how this dossier is drafted and how often it is published. What will be released today is indicated as “Summary for Policymakers on Climate Change 2023” and is the last chapter of the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, as it integrates and summarizes the results of the six reports published by the IPCC during the current cycle, which began in 2015. In total, for 7 years now, there are therefore three Special Reports and three contributions from the IPCC working groups to the Sixth Evaluation Report.
A clarification is obligatory: in the report that will be published today there will be no scientifically significant news, since it is a summary of the previous ones. However it is crucial why it brings together scientific evidence in a shorter form and is aimed at policy makers, to indicate a way forward to limit global warming. Also, the document is the starting point for the agreements that will be discussed at the end of November in Dubai during the next United Nations climate summit, Cop28.
Let’s look at some points in summary.
What’s in the IPCC Summary Report AR6?
As mentioned, the chapter released today summarizes the key findings of the previous main sectionswhich covered the physical science of the climate crisis, including observations and projections of global warming, the impacts of the climate crisis and ways to adapt to them, and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The synthesis report also includes three other shorter IPCC reports, published since 2018, on what the impacts of global warming on land, cryosphere and oceans will be with an increase of more than 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels. The report released today is factual the last before 2030, the year indicated by the Paris Agreement to achieve a 45% reduction in emissionsto limit global warming to no more than 1.5°C and reach net zero by 2050.
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Why is it necessary to summarize the previous results?
The group of scientists working on the Report has repeatedly issued precise alarms and given indications on the urgency of taking action. In particular, previous publications have pointed out that the world is approaching irreversible levels of global warming, with catastrophic impacts, which are fast becoming unavoidable. Above all, there has been a call for drastic measures to avert disaster.
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In this report, therefore, there will be guidance on possible policies and actions that will prevent the climate catastrophe of further warming. As the report will serve as the basis for COP28, when assessing the progress made by nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions following the 2015 Paris climate accord, it will contain scientific support for global climate action. In fact, it should be emphasized that the report is written by scientists (among the Italian editors Anna Piranihead of the Technical Support Unit (IPCC WGI), but its content is also discussed by representatives of nearly 200 UN governments.
What can be expected after its publication?
It is known that we are far from the emission reduction targets already indicated by previous reports. After all, the one released today is the sixth IPCC report since the body was established in 1988, and despite the fact that already in 2018 it was firmly stated that emissions must be halved by 2030, compared to 2010 levels, there was no trend reversal. On the contrary: it is clear that the objective of limiting the increase in temperature to 1.5°C is now unattainable and according to the IEA, the international energy agency, emissions continue to rise (last year they increased by just under 1%).
What actions should governments take now?
The request of the scientists is of drastically reduce emissions and give up fossil fuelsinvesting in renewable energy and other low-carbon technologies, increasing energy efficiency, rethinking agriculture, and restoring degraded forests and natural landscapes.
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