Six months ago, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
released part
one
of its Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), which presented irrefutable
evidence of humans’ effect on the changing climate and was deemed by many as a
“code red for humanity.”
Part two, released Monday, provides further detail about just how far we’re
careening off the proverbial rails and our ever-narrowing window for getting
back on a habitable track. But Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability provides deeper insight
into a potential path forward — it recognizes the interdependence of climate,
biodiversity and people; and integrates natural, social and economic sciences
more strongly than earlier IPCC assessments.
“This report is a dire warning about the consequences of inaction. It shows that
climate change is a grave and mounting threat to our wellbeing and a healthy
planet,” said IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee. “Our actions today will shape how
people adapt and nature responds to increasing climate risks.”
Urgent action required to deal with increasing risks
Synopsis: The world faces unavoidable multiple climate hazards over the next two
decades with global warming of 1.5°C (2.7°F). Even temporarily exceeding this
warming level will result in additional severe impacts, some of which will be
irreversible — and the imminent risks for
society
will only increase.
Destructive weather-related events of increasing frequency and severity are
already exceeding our ecosystems’ tolerance thresholds, driving mass mortalities
in species such as trees and corals. These weather extremes are occurring
simultaneously — causing cascading impacts that are increasingly difficult to
manage — and have exposed millions of people to acute food and water insecurity,
especially in developing areas.
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To avoid mounting loss of life, biodiversity and infrastructure, ambitious,
accelerated action is required to adapt to climate change, at the same time as
making rapid, deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. So far, progress on
adaptation is uneven and there are increasing gaps between action taken and
what is
needed
to deal with the increasing risks. These gaps are largest among lower-income
populations — where funding and infrastructure lag far behind the levels needed
to implement climate-resilient
solutions.
Safeguarding and strengthening nature is key to securing a livable future
The new IPCC report echoes a landmark 2019
report
commissioned by the UK government, which called for the expanding and
improvement of protected natural
areas,
increased investment into nature-based solutions, the creation or improvement of
policies to eliminate damaging consumption of natural assets, and the
incorporation of natural capital
accounting
and proper valuation of ecosystem services
into all national accounting systems.
“Healthy ecosystems are more resilient to climate change and provide
life-critical services such as food and clean water,” said IPCC Working Group II
Co-Chair Hans-Otto Pörtner. “By restoring degraded ecosystems and
effectively and equitably conserving 30-50 percent of Earth’s land, freshwater
and ocean habitats, society can benefit from nature’s capacity to absorb and
store carbon; and we can accelerate progress towards sustainable development —
but adequate finance and political support are essential.”
“The IPCC’s report on the impacts of climate change paints a dire picture. The
silver lining is that we can still do something about it,” says Stephanie
Roe, Global Lead Climate Scientist at WWF. “Every fraction of a degree
matters in avoiding more severe impacts. Urgent action is needed in deploying
adaptation measures and limiting warming to 1.5°C. The report highlights that
healthy, intact ecosystems play a very powerful role in buffering against
climate impacts and regulating our climate system. Effective global conservation
is therefore a critical component of mitigating climate change and ensuring a
more climate-resilient future.“
The IPCC scientists point out that climate change interacts with global trends
such as unsustainable use of natural resources, growing urbanization, social
inequalities, losses and damages from extreme events and a pandemic,
jeopardizing future development.
“Our assessment clearly shows that tackling all these different challenges
involves everyone — governments, the private sector, civil society — working
together to prioritize risk reduction, as well as equity and justice, in
decision-making and investment,” said IPCC Working Group II Co-Chair Debra
Roberts. “In this way, different interests, values and worldviews can be
reconciled. By bringing together scientific and technological know-how as well
as Indigenous and local
knowledge,
solutions will be more effective. Failure to achieve climate-resilient and
sustainable
development
will result in a sub- optimal future for people and nature.”
An ever-narrowing window for action
The report points out that climate-resilient development is already challenging
at current warming levels — and will only become more so, if warming is allowed
to continue unabated. This key finding underlines the urgency for decisive
climate action, focusing on equity and justice, from both the public and private
sector. Adequate funding, technology transfer, political commitment and
partnership across sectors will lead to more effective climate change adaptation
and emissions reductions — in developed as well as developing economies.
“The IPCC’s report … is a wake-up call to businesses to put climate change risk
at the front and centre of strategy planning. Any company that thinks it is
insulated from the risks outlined in the IPCC’s report, or that these are
distant issues for the developing world, is mistaken,” says Will Jenkins,
Director at Carbon Intelligence. “The interconnectedness of global supply
chains and commodity markets, highlighted by both COVID and recent energy price
shocks, means these impacts will reach every geography, and every type of
business.
“The businesses that will thrive are those with a robust strategy to mitigate
climate change through a net-zero transition
plan
with near-term and long-term science-based targets, and those that are working
with a sustainable business model that considers planet and people as well as
profit. If your business is only taking small steps, it is at best maintaining
the status quo. To have a positive impact in these unprecedented times, radical,
long-term thinking is required.”
This type of long-term thinking is seen in newer business models such as that of Too Good to Go, the world’s largest business-to-consumer marketplace for surplus food. Working to eliminate the egregious amount of food wasted around the world each year is a critical step in fighting climate change.
"The latest IPCC report underscores the need for us to move and move quickly as a global community," says Too Good to Go co-founder Lucie Basch. "To truly have an impact in the fight against climate change, we must take immediate steps, both easy and hard, to reduce the vast amounts of waste our world is currently creating. 1/3 of the world's food goes to waste, which contributes to 10 percent of global greenhouse gasses. By working collectively to address this issue and create tangible, sustainable solutions, we can move the needle in the fight against global warming before the window for action closes."
“[The IPCC]’s stark depiction of escalating climate impacts should light a fire
under governments and corporates in the high-emitting economies most responsible
for climate change, whose lack of action to date disproportionally affects the
most vulnerable across the planet and pushes the world ever closer to a point of
no return,” says Nicolette Bartlett, Chief Impact Officer at
CDP.
“Companies must prepare themselves for the impacts of climate change and show
that they can adapt; be it through resilient supply chains or business models,
efforts toward adaptation are now the minimum requirement for survival.
Measuring and managing environmental risks through disclosure will help to build
resilience and plan for the future. There are a wealth of frameworks and
standards to guide corporates through that process in line with best practice.
“[The IPCC’s] findings should make a focus on immediate emission reductions even
more critical," Roe added. "Credible transition
plans
toward a net-zero future must include increasing and tracked adaptation measures
if they are to be truly effective — alongside robust, science-based 2030
targets. The reality remains that companies need to halve emissions by
2030
if we are to have any chance of limiting global warming.”
Read more insights from the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report here.
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Sustainable Brands Staff
Published Mar 1, 2022 7am EST / 4am PST / 12pm GMT / 1pm CET