Here are five key findings from the IPCC report: (from Tim Mohin' s ESG News Report)
1. "Adapt or die".
While depressing, this is a very real choice we face. Approximately 3.3 to 3.6 billion people live in areas that are highly vulnerable to climate change. For many of these communities, there will be a point at which adaptation will no longer be effective if temperatures continue to rise.
Adaptation is happening, but it remains too incremental, short-term and localized to enact the transformative global changes needed. The IPCC report highlights a widening "adaptation gap" between communities that can afford expensive adaptation projects and those that cannot. And while developed nations have pledged to help fund nations vulnerable to climate change in their adaptation, promises are slow to materialize.
2. The less fortunate are the most vulnerable
The report confirms that climate change disproportionately affects indigenous peoples, small island nations and people living below the poverty line - the populations that have done the least to cause the problem. It asserts with high confidence level that mortality from climate disasters was 15 times higher in "highly vulnerable" regions over the past decade.
In response, NGOs and activists are calling for traceable climate reparations, especially as industrialized countries have failed to meet the $100 billion per year climate finance target set at COP19 in 2013.
3. Blowing beyond 1.5C
The report focused on the risks of exceeding an average global temperature increase of 1.5°C: the target set by the IPCC in 2018. Crossing the 1.5C threshold increases threats to human health, water and food scarcity, loss of biodiversity and species, and our risk of irreversible damage. 'tipping points.' It seems likely that this threshold will be exceeded. The first installment of this report predicts that the probability of exceeding 1.5C in the next 20 years is greater than 50%.
4. Need for climate-resilient development
Climate-resilient development combines climate change adaptation strategies and mitigation of emissions that exacerbate climate change. According to the report, our window for providing climate resilience is still open, but it is closing fast.
5. There is hope
Amid dire warnings, there were glimmers of hope. The IPCC proposes feasible and effective solutions such as restoring ecosystems to build natural carbon sinks and implementing climate-resilient development in cities. The reports themselves are becoming more inclusive: they acknowledge the historical influence of colonialism on climate vulnerability, value indigenous perspectives, and include more women authors than ever in the current delivery.
Overall, the report underscores the bottom line that has been clear for some time: we have a brief window to decarbonize our economy to avoid the worst effects of climate change. As Greta Thurnberg said, "Literally everything is at stake."
