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IPCC Press Conference - Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report March 20 2023
Last edited Mon Mar 20, 2023, 01:33 PM - Edit history (1)
Preview starts at 1:53IPCC press conference starts 31:35
More from Ars Technica with hyperlinks...
Report version 6.0
There are interesting ways our knowledge has improved since the previous assessment report was released in 2013–2014. Projected sea level rise has become a bit clearer, for example, while trends in current weather extremes have been identified with certainty. But the new report’s most important update is that progress on climate change remains insufficient to limit warming to 1.5°C or 2°C despite the fact that significant progress has occurred.
Scenarios that let us hit those targets “involve rapid and deep and, in most cases, immediate greenhouse gas emissions reductions in all sectors this decade,” the report notes. Compared to 2019, global emissions would have to drop about 21 percent by 2030 and 35 percent by 2035 to keep warming below 2°C. To keep the rise below 1.5°C, those numbers would have to strengthen to 43 percent and 60 percent.
Those numbers were emphasized because the next round of Paris Climate Agreement pledges that countries submit will run through 2035.
Another notable theme in this cycle of reports is a focus on equity. As the science increasingly pushed into finer details, recognition that not all regions have contributed equally to the problem—and not all regions are impacted equally—has become more explicit. Effective global solutions must account for the fact that some are more vulnerable than others.
Point the way
The effect of the war in Ukraine on Europe’s energy sector shows just how much can be done when energy transition is a priority. Faced with the need to suddenly function without much of the Russian fossil fuel it had become highly dependent on, Europe is changing its energy use incredibly quickly. This has partly been facilitated by simply switching to other sources of fossil fuels, but investments in clean energy infrastructure have also accelerated greatly—and will have a lasting impact.
The urgency communicated in the IPCC reports is clear: “Climate change is a threat to human well-being and planetary health. There is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all. ... The choices and actions implemented in this decade will have impacts now and for thousands of years.”
There are interesting ways our knowledge has improved since the previous assessment report was released in 2013–2014. Projected sea level rise has become a bit clearer, for example, while trends in current weather extremes have been identified with certainty. But the new report’s most important update is that progress on climate change remains insufficient to limit warming to 1.5°C or 2°C despite the fact that significant progress has occurred.
Scenarios that let us hit those targets “involve rapid and deep and, in most cases, immediate greenhouse gas emissions reductions in all sectors this decade,” the report notes. Compared to 2019, global emissions would have to drop about 21 percent by 2030 and 35 percent by 2035 to keep warming below 2°C. To keep the rise below 1.5°C, those numbers would have to strengthen to 43 percent and 60 percent.
Those numbers were emphasized because the next round of Paris Climate Agreement pledges that countries submit will run through 2035.
Another notable theme in this cycle of reports is a focus on equity. As the science increasingly pushed into finer details, recognition that not all regions have contributed equally to the problem—and not all regions are impacted equally—has become more explicit. Effective global solutions must account for the fact that some are more vulnerable than others.
Point the way
The effect of the war in Ukraine on Europe’s energy sector shows just how much can be done when energy transition is a priority. Faced with the need to suddenly function without much of the Russian fossil fuel it had become highly dependent on, Europe is changing its energy use incredibly quickly. This has partly been facilitated by simply switching to other sources of fossil fuels, but investments in clean energy infrastructure have also accelerated greatly—and will have a lasting impact.
The urgency communicated in the IPCC reports is clear: “Climate change is a threat to human well-being and planetary health. There is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all. ... The choices and actions implemented in this decade will have impacts now and for thousands of years.”
