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Climate change is a grave and mounting threat to our wellbeing
by IPCC, WMO, IFRC, WFP, Unicef, agencies
11:19am 1st Mar, 2022
 
Apr. 2022
  
Despite repeated climate change warnings issued by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since 1990, global emissions have continued to rise in the last decade, reaching their highest point in history.
  
Current policies are leading the planet towards catastrophic temperature rises, the IPCC says in its latest report released this week. Global emissions now are on track to dramatically exceed 1.5C warming limit envisioned in the 2015 Paris Agreement and reach in excess of 3.2C by the century’s end. Humanity has less than three years to halt the rise of planet-warming carbon emissions and less than a decade to cut them in half, states the report.
  
4 Apr. 2022
  
UN Secretary-General warns of Climate Emergency: Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message on the launch of the third Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, in New York today:
  
"The jury has reached a verdict. And it is damning. This report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a litany of broken climate promises. It is a file of shame, cataloguing the empty pledges that put us firmly on track towards an unliveable world.
  
We are on a fast track to climate disaster. Major cities under water. Unprecedented heatwaves. Terrifying storms. Widespread water shortages. The extinction of a million species of plants and animals. This is not fiction or exaggeration. It is what science tells us will result from our current energy policies.
  
We are on a pathway to global warming of more than double the 1.5°C limit agreed in Paris. Some Government and business leaders are saying one thing, but doing another. Simply put, they are lying. And the results will be catastrophic. This is a climate emergency.
  
Climate scientists warn that we are already perilously close to tipping points that could lead to cascading and irreversible climate impacts. But, high‑emitting Governments and corporations are not just turning a blind eye, they are adding fuel to the flames.
  
They are choking our planet, based on their vested interests and historic investments in fossil fuels, when cheaper, renewable solutions provide green jobs, energy security and greater price stability.
  
We left COP26 [twenty-sixth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change] in Glasgow with a naive optimism, based on new promises and commitments. But, the main problem — the enormous, growing emissions gap — was all but ignored. The science is clear: to keep the 1.5°C limit agreed in Paris within reach, we need to cut global emissions by at least 45 per cent this decade.
  
But, current climate pledges would mean a 14 per cent increase in emissions. And most major emitters are not taking the steps needed to fulfil even these inadequate promises. Climate activists are sometimes depicted as dangerous radicals. But, the truly dangerous radicals are the countries that are increasing the production of fossil fuels.
  
Investing in new fossil fuels infrastructure is moral and economic madness. Such investments will soon be stranded assets — a blot on the landscape and a blight on investment portfolios. But, it doesn’t have to be this way.
  
Today’s report is focused on mitigation — cutting emissions. It sets out viable, financially sound options in every sector that can keep the possibility of limiting warming to 1.5°C alive.
  
First and foremost, we must triple the speed of the shift to renewable energy. That means moving investments and subsidies from fossil fuels to renewables — now. In most cases, renewables are already far cheaper. It means Governments ending the funding of coal, not just abroad, but at home.
  
It means climate coalitions, made up of developed countries, multilateral development banks, private financial institutions and corporations, supporting major emerging economies in making this shift. It means protecting forests and ecosystems as powerful climate solutions. It means rapid progress in reducing methane emissions. And it means implementing the pledges made in Paris and Glasgow.
  
Leaders must lead. But, all of us can do our part. We owe a debt to young people, civil society and indigenous communities for sounding the alarm and holding leaders accountable. We need to build on their work to create a grass‑roots movement that cannot be ignored.
  
If you live in a big city, a rural area or a small island State; if you invest in the stock market; if you care about justice and our children’s future; I am appealing directly to you: demand that renewable energy is introduced now — at speed and at scale; demand an end to coal-fired power; demand an end to all fossil fuel subsidies.
  
Today’s report comes at a time of global turbulence. Inequalities are at unprecedented levels. The recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is scandalously uneven. Inflation is rising, and the war in Ukraine is causing food and energy prices to skyrocket. But, increasing fossil‑fuel production will only make matters worse.
  
Choices made by countries now will make or break the commitment to 1.5°C . A shift to renewables will mend our broken global energy mix and offer hope to millions of people suffering climate impacts today. Climate promises and plans must be turned into reality and action, now. It is time to stop burning our planet and start investing in the abundant renewable energy all around us.
  
http://www.un.org/press/en/2022/sgsm21228.doc.htm http://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-3/ http://www.ipcc.ch/2022/02/28/pr-wgii-ar6/ http://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-ii/ http://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-i/ http://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/
  
Apr. 2022
  
Climate Action Network International: Reactions from civil society organisations to latest IPCC report:
  
Today the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the third and final report under the Sixth Assessment Cycle (AR6) which looks at climate change mitigation and the solutions and scenarios to limit warming to 1.5°C.
  
The groundbreaking report must be an obituary to the fossil fuel industry. It recommends rapid and deep cuts in emissions, phasing out all fossil fuels, transformative shifts to scale up energy efficiency, renewable energy and electrification, and the conservation and restoration of forests and lands.
  
All of this must align with sustainable development policies, substantial financial flows toward climate solutions and be underpinned by principles of equity and justice. This is the only real chance to avert runaway climate change within a narrowing and precious window of time.
  
The science in the report is crystal clear: speculative technological fixes are no substitute for real efforts to eliminate all fossil fuels. Systemic transformations across all sectors of society, particularly the most polluting, can secure a safe, healthy and liveable planet.
  
Reactions from civil society organisations:
  
“Climate change is moving faster than we are. We cannot hold on any longer to the polluting fossil fuels that are wrecking our climate and destroying the natural world on which we all depend. We will miss the crucial goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C unless we dramatically scale up climate solutions to rapidly cut greenhouse gas emissions. This means investing at scale in powering our societies more efficiently, using clean renewable energy, conserving and restoring nature, moving away from unsustainable business practices and leaving no one behind in this transition. Every moment, every policy, every investment, every decision matters to avoid further climate chaos.” – Dr Stephen Cornelius, WWF Global Lead for IPCC and head of the WWF delegation observing the negotiations.
  
“It’s game over for fossil fuels that are fuelling both wars and climate chaos. There’s no room for any new fossil fuel developments and the coal and gas plants we already have need to close early. While our leaders have been claiming they’re doing their very best on climate, the scientists have just proven they are not. There’s plenty of potential to do more right now, with huge benefits! Yet, money keeps flowing to problems instead of solutions, and it will only change with credible targets, policies and support aligned with the Paris Agreement warming limit. Both the threats and the opportunities are larger than ever. But so is the power of people who unite for change.” – Kaisa Kosonen, Senior Policy Advisor, Greenpeace Nordic
  
“The IPCC’s latest report affirms why rapid and equitable phaseout of fossil fuels must be the center-piece of any science-based mitigation strategy that aims to avert catastrophic levels of global warming. Relying on speculative technologies purported to deliver emissions reductions or removals in the future, after temperature rise surpasses 1.5°C, will cost lives and inflict further irreversible harm. The Panel’s findings only reinforce that breaking free from fossil fuel dependency is critical for the global climate, for global peace, and for economic stability.” – Nikki Reisch, Director, Climate & Energy Program, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)
  
“Decades of failure in global leadership, combined with fossil fuel companies’ single-minded focus on their profits and unsustainable patterns of consumption within the world’s richest households, are putting our planet at peril. Fossil fuels are the root cause of climate change, of environmental injustices and—as we are witnessing in Ukraine right now—frequently associated with geopolitical strife and conflict.
  
This latest IPCC report puts policymakers on notice, yet again, that the current global trajectory of heat-trapping emissions is alarmingly off-track. The solutions are obvious and have been for a long time—the world needs to rapidly phase out fossil fuel emissions across every sector of the economy and accelerate a transformative shift to clean energy.
  
Richer nations, including the United States, bear significant responsibility to both cut emissions and provide funding to help developing countries. Continuing down the current path leaves us poised to exceed 1.5 and even 2 degrees Celsius of warming. Let’s seize this precious, narrow window of opportunity to secure a safer, healthier, and more just world.” – Dr. Rachel Cleetus, Policy Director and Lead Economist. Climate and Energy Program, Union of Concerned Scientists
  
“Solar and wind power, as well as energy efficiency, have the largest economic potentials to cut carbon pollution the most by 2030 in this crucial decade. This must be accompanied by the protection of pristine forests and restoration of degraded ecosystems and a shift to plant-based low-carbon diets. We urge governments, particularly the large polluters, to immediately implement the findings showing that investments into clean technologies have to grow by up to six times annually on average until 2030 to have a chance to stay in the survival trajectory of no more than 1.5°C global warming eventually.” – Dr Stephan Singer, Senior Advisor, Climate Action Network International
  
“You can feel the scientists’ frustration that mountains of evidence isn’t yet driving the radical action needed to meet global climate goals. They are watching the clock tick down as governments and polluters continue to avoid making the bold changes in our energy, food and industrial systems that are our only route out of catastrophic climate change. The IPCC report delivers a clear warning that reliance on techno-fixes and tree plantations to solve the problem not only amounts to wishful thinking, but would drive land conflicts and harm the food, ecosystems and communities already hardest hit by the climate crisis.” – Teresa Anderson, Climate Justice Lead, ActionAid International
  
“The latest IPCC report finds that solutions are readily available across all sectors to more than halve emissions by 2030, in line with a 1.5ºC pathway. Moreover, a low-carbon economy can create more jobs overall, and there are many mitigation options with economic, societal and environmental benefits. Since the last report, technologies have significantly improved, and the costs of solutions like solar, wind and batteries have declined by up to 85%.
  
No countries’ reductions are currently consistent with limiting warming to a 1.5ºC pathway. We clearly have the tools to tackle the climate crisis, but they need to be deployed more rapidly and at a larger scale to keep 1.5ºC within reach and reduce the severity of climate impacts.” – Dr Stephanie Roe, IPCC Lead Author and WWF Global Climate and Energy Lead Scientist.
  
“Science is telling us we can’t wait until 2030 to drastically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. With this strong piece of evidence, it’s outrageous to see that countries in Europe and the EU are still subsidising fossil fuels, instead of using those precious funds to accelerate a just energy transition for all. This will help protect the environment, but also will have ripple benefits in our health and, as we are specially aware of these days, peace” – Chiara Martinelli, Director, Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe
  
“In a historic first, the IPCC acknowledges the power of people going to court to assert their human rights in the face of the climate crisis. Governments, corporations and financial institutions, you’re officially on notice: align with the science and address fundamental injustices, or be forced to do so.” – Louise Fournier, Legal Counsel for Climate Justice and Liability, Greenpeace International
  
“The latest IPCC report contains much of what is needed to stay on track for 1.5°C without dangerous temperature overshoot and without speculative technological carbon dioxide removal (CDR). But the IPCC falls short of highlighting the right conclusions from its own findings: The central climate mitigation strategy — phasing out all fossil fuels, starting immediately — is often diluted in the Summary for Policymakers by references to CDR and carbon capture and storage, which are meant to keep the fossil fuel industry alive.
  
Overly vague language on “net zero” emissions obfuscates the most urgent policy responses: Fossil fuel phase-out, wind and solar, widespread electrification, and lowering energy and resource demand, in particular in the Global North, transformations in food systems and diets, protection and restoration of natural ecosystems in line with rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples.
  
The IPCC mitigation report needs to be read in light of the previous two Working Group reports, which highlighted the severe risks and irreversible damage associated with overshooting the 1.5°C limit and with the deployment of CDR technologies to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Geoengineering technologies will not reverse climate breakdown.” – Linda Schneider, Senior Programme Officer International Climate Policy, Heinrich Boell Foundation
  
“The IPCC’s latest report is crystal clear: the world must phase out virtually all coal, oil and gas production by 2050 to limit global warming to 1.5°C by 2100 while safeguarding the sustainable development goals. We must start shifting energy investments away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy, and this process must begin today. The good news is that we can ensure long-term climate and energy security by building an energy system based on renewables and energy storage. The countries must commit to more ambitious climate goals and more than double their annual wind and solar energy investments during the next 10 years to transition away from fossil fuels in a way that is consistent with climate science, justice, and sustainable development.” – Olivier Bois von Kursk, Policy Analyst, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
  
“The latest IPCC report on mitigation of the climate crisis once again confirms the urgency with which we need to act. We must free every political portfolio, every business, every home, from our current carbon addiction. We must also be clear that decisive action on climate is not a ‘cost’: it is an investment, not just in our future, but in our survival. Such investment will provide a buoyant green jobs market as well as protecting us against damage from extreme weather and the need to adapt to a drastically altered climate: it would be the greatest cost-saving of human history. Ultimately, the money we spend today will return many times its value, but the ‘Bank of Nature’ will charge a wholly unsustainable rate of interest if we do not pay off our debts now.” – Steve Trent, CEO and founder of the Environmental Justice Foundation
  
“It is heart-breaking for me, as a Ukrainian climate activist, to be living through a war which has fossil fuel money at its core. The money, that we begged not to invest in dirty energy, is now flying over our heads in the form of bombs. The dependence of some countries on fossil fuels is being used for blackmail. We need to come out of this war better than we were. We need to learn how to act in a more intelligent way and put the great power of people into green recovery. I want us to be a part of building a more just and greener world which prevents fossil fuelled dictatorships from getting this much power. Science is with us, we know what we have to do.” – Olha Boiko, Ecoaction, Coordinator of CAN EECCA, based in Ukraine
  
“Governments need to respond to this report in two ways. They must set higher climate targets for this decade to close the 1.5˚C emission gap. And we need much stronger implementation of climate policies to actually deliver those emissions cuts. The spotlight’s on the major emitting countries to take these two steps this year without delay. It’s not only what they promised to do at last year’s COP26 UN climate summit, but also what today’s report urgently calls for.” – Tom Evans, climate diplomacy policy advisor, E3G
  
“Today’s IPCC report confirms that the world is on the brink of unprecedented change. Governments face a choice. They can either seize this moment of transformation, to build a more just world by accelerating climate action, and putting the needs of communities, Indigenous Peoples, and workers first. Or they can remain complacent amidst escalating destruction, conflict, and poverty, and allow the fossil fuel industry to burn our chance for a livable future.”
  
– Eddy Perez, International Climate Diplomacy Manager, Climate Action Network – Reseau action climat Canada
  
“Fossil fuel executives are exploiting a war they helped fund to try to increase their own profits and pollution, and this report shows us exactly why governments must put a stop to it. To stay below 1.5°C, we can’t afford any new oil, gas, and coal infrastructure and need to phase out what’s already built at a rapid pace. The positive news is that an energy system based on clean, renewable energy is both achievable and best for people’s health, development, and energy security. To get there, governments must stop listening to fossil fuel corporations and start heeding the science and the urgent pleas for action from communities facing droughts, fires, floods, and rising seas.” – Kelly Trout, Research Co-Director, Oil Change International
  
“This report is clear that we are now facing a dangerous lock-in of fossil fuel emissions and stranded assets which will further destabilise our economy and society. This is because governments and companies have continued to recklessly expand oil, gas and coal projects. A new global fossil fuel treaty can help countries manage this risk and constrain production in a way that is fast and fair at the scale required to tackle this global crisis. You can’t put out a fire with gas and our planet is quite literally on fire.” – Tzeporah Berman, Chair for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative and Stand.earth International Program Director
  
“This report makes clear just how close we are to breaching the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 degree limit and just how urgent it is to make a clean break from fossil fuels. There can be no justification for prolonging support and subsidies for fossil fuels that put the planet on a pathway to more than 1.5C of warming – which is already a devastating compromise for vulnerable parts of the world.
  
Putin’s horrific fossil fuel funded invasion of Ukraine has rocked Europe and must be the final wake-up call that breaks the stranglehold of fossil fuels on our energy system. Clean, safe energy solutions exist and the IPCC shows they are getting cheaper. Europe must finally put people and our planet before industry profits, start decommissioning fossil fuels and go all-out for renewables, insulation and energy saving.” – Colin Roche, climate justice and energy coordinator for Friends of the Earth Europe
  
“This latest report drives home both the urgency and agency in addressing the climate crisis. While we are already experiencing dangerous climate change impacts, this report shows that we can still avert the worst consequences if we rapidly accelerate the transition from fossil fuels toward clean energy and climate-friendly practices. A Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty can be an anchor for driving forward that transition globally.” – Michael E Mann, Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science at Penn State University
  
“We’re past the point in human history where continuing to burn stuff is a bad idea, undermining both the climate and democracy. Happily, there’s a ball of burning gas hanging 93 million miles up in the sky that we can depend on. We have the tech, we need the will! At this point, a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty is a must. – Bill McKibben, founder, 350.org
  
“The report makes a strong call for action as time is running out. The good news is that we already know the solutions, but they require urgent investments. That is why the need to scale up climate finance is so important.” – Mattias Soderberg, Chief Advisor, DanChurchAid
  
“No amount of adaptation can compensate for the terrible consequences of failing to hit the Paris goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C. This is a survival target and it remains within our grasp, but just barely. After a dip in 2020, carbon emissions that fuel climate change have bounced back to pre-pandemic levels. We need extraordinary cuts in the use of fossil fuels to meet our emissions targets, and that entails a dramatic shift towards sustainable renewable energy. The recent push to increase production of oil, gas and coal and backtrack on climate measures because of the crisis in Ukraine —and even to delay net-zero— is shortsighted folly.” – Nafkote Dabi, Oxfam’s Climate Policy Lead
  
“Today’s report is a reminder of the urgent need to heal humanity’s fractured relationship with the natural world. We must rapidly phase out the burning and extraction of fossil fuels while ensuring an equitable transition to justly-sourced renewable energy systems. We must reject the dangerous distractions of fossil-fuel based solutions like refining natural gas for hydrogen fuels and carbon capture. As a global community, we must choose now to invest in community controlled solutions to build a just, equitable, and people-centered economy.” – Sriram Madhusoodanan, International Strategy Director, Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy
  
“The latest warning from IPCC scientists is clear: our reliance on fossil fuels is self-destructive and must decline rapidly if we want to stand any chance of protecting people’s human rights. All those who value human dignity and wellbeing must fully throw their weight behind the call for global climate justice. To meet their obligations in international law to protect human rights, each state must act urgently, at home and through international cooperation, to achieve a managed and equitable phase out of existing fossil fuel use and production worldwide.” – Ashfaq Khalfan, Law and Policy Director, Amnesty International
  
“Expanding greenhouse gas emissions are undermining the fundamental human and environmental rights of the most vulnerable people and communities around the world, including here in the Pacific Islands. The scientific evidence becomes more damning with each IPCC report, and makes it inevitable that those Corporations and State sponsors that are profiting off the lives and livelihoods of our island women, youth, and indigenous peoples, will soon face criminal prosecution. We must bring climate change to the International Court of Justice to protect the rights of present and future generations who call this planet home.”
  
– Lavetanalagi Seru, Regional Policy Coordinator, Pacific Islands Climate Action Network
  
“This report confirms that just moving to decarbonize by 2050 isn’t enough; climate change is outpacing our response, and avoiding its worst impacts requires urgent, decisive action from governments all around the world. Japan, as one of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters, needs to set more ambitious emission reduction targets, along with concrete roadmaps and policy instruments to achieve them, in order to do its fair share to ensure the world avoids the worsening climate crisis. This begins with completely phasing out coal-fired power, its largest source of emissions, by 2030, and replacing it with renewable energy – not with impractical technology like ammonia and hydrogen co-firing, which won’t meaningfully reduce emissions and will only extend the life of coal power.” – Evan Gach, Program Coordinator, Kiko Network. Coordinator, Climate Action Network Japan
  
“The polar heat waves, ice shelf collapse and fossil-fueled war surrounding this report show we need a lifeline for humanity, not fossil fuels. Climate change mitigation through methods like carbon capture and storage is dangerous, ineffective and wildly expensive. Instead, we need the political will to leave fossil fuels in the ground, advance renewable energy and invest in nature-based carbon dioxide removal through forest and ecosystem protection. We have the solutions we need, so the only question is whether our leaders have the courage.” – Maya Golden-Krasner, Deputy Director, Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute
  
“In Australia we face some of the worst impacts of climate change whilst also being the third largest exporter of fossil fuels on earth. This latest IPCC Report makes it clear that nations like Australia must shift away from fossil fuels quickly. Not just domestically, but as an exporter too. Luckily for us we have some of the world’s greatest solar and wind resources and the capacity to replace our current exports of coal and gas with green hydrogen and ammonia to the same markets in north Asia. We need to support our coal and gas communities through this transition and chart a new way forward, with our fellow nations, for the Asia-Pacific region.” – Glen Klatovsky, acting Executive Director, Climate Action Network Australia
  
“Of the 10 countries in Southeast Asia (SEA), four are in the top 10 countries most vulnerable to climate risk. Actions taken by governments to address climate change – based on an equity and fair shares approach – have to be transformational and truly ambitious in nature. The latest IPCC Report highlights clear ways to mitigate against climate change. The intergovernmental body ASEAN must convene a meeting to discuss both IPCC’s latest and previous reports so that strategies can be adopted and actions taken – on a region-wide basis – to address climate change. This should include adopting a SEA Just Transition Framework to ensure no one is left behind, while the region shifts away from its dependence on fossil fuels.” – Nithi Nesadurai, Director and Regional Coordinator, Climate Action Network Southeast Asia
  
“There are only so many ‘code red for humanity’ warnings that can be issued, it’s clear time is running out. The crisis in Ukraine has shown the fragility of global oil and gas supplies, investment in renewables is the only way to energy security and dealing with the climate crisis; there must be no rowing back on commitments to tackle the climate crisis by reopening gas pipelines and unplugging oil wells.
  
The conflict in Ukraine has shown us the peril refugees face across the world, as we open our hearts and minds to those in need. If the world does not address the causes of climate change with increased urgency, many millions more will face a similar journey in years to come as they search for a safe place to call home.” – Christine Allen, Director, CAFOD
  
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28 Feb. 2022 (IPCC News)
  
Human-induced climate change is causing dangerous and widespread disruption in nature and affecting the lives of billions of people around the world, despite efforts to reduce the risks. People and ecosystems least able to cope are being hardest hit, said scientists in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, released today.
  
“This report is a dire warning about the consequences of inaction,” said Hoesung Lee, Chair of the IPCC. “It shows that climate change is a grave and mounting threat to our wellbeing and a healthy planet. Our actions today will shape how people adapt and nature responds to increasing climate risks.”
  
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. Risks for society will increase, including to infrastructure and low-lying coastal settlements.
  
The Summary for Policymakers of the IPCC Working Group II report, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability was approved on February 27 2022, by 195 member governments of the IPCC.
  
Urgent action required to deal with increasing risks
  
Increased heatwaves, droughts and floods are already exceeding plants’ and animals’ 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. They have exposed millions of people to acute food and water insecurity, especially in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, on Small Islands and in the Arctic.
  
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, the new report finds. These gaps are largest among lower-income populations.
  
“This report recognizes the interdependence of climate, biodiversity and people and integrates natural, social and economic sciences more strongly than earlier IPCC assessments,” said Hoesung Lee. “It emphasizes the urgency of immediate and more ambitious action to address climate risks. Half measures are no longer an option.”
  
Safeguarding and strengthening nature is key to securing a liveable future
  
There are options to adapt to a changing climate. This report provides new insights into nature’s potential not only to reduce climate risks but also to improve people’s lives.
  
“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 Portner.
  
“By restoring degraded ecosystems and effectively and equitably conserving 30 to 50 per cent 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.”
  
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 world views 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.”
  
Cities: Hotspots of impacts and risks, but also a crucial part of the solution
  
This report provides a detailed assessment of climate change impacts, risks and adaptation in cities, where more than half the world’s population lives. People’s health, lives and livelihoods, as well as property and critical infrastructure, including energy and transportation systems, are being increasingly adversely affected by hazards from heatwaves, storms, drought and flooding as well as slow-onset changes, including sea level rise.
  
“Together, growing urbanization and climate change create complex risks, especially for those cities that already experience poorly planned urban growth, high levels of poverty and unemployment, and a lack of basic services,” Debra Roberts said.
  
“But cities also provide opportunities for climate action – green buildings, reliable supplies of clean water and renewable energy, and sustainable transport systems that connect urban and rural areas can all lead to a more inclusive, fairer society.”
  
There is increasing evidence of adaptation that has caused unintended consequences, for example destroying nature, putting peoples’ lives at risk or increasing greenhouse gas emissions. This can be avoided by involving everyone in planning, attention to equity and justice, and drawing on Indigenous and local knowledge.
  
A narrowing window for action
  
Climate change is a global challenge that requires local solutions and that’s why the Working Group II contribution to the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) provides extensive regional information to enable Climate Resilient Development.
  
The report clearly states Climate Resilient Development is already challenging at current warming levels. It will become more limited if global warming exceeds 1.5°C (2.7°F). In some regions it will be impossible if global warming exceeds 2°C (3.6°F).
  
This key finding underlines the urgency for climate action, focusing on equity and justice. Adequate funding, technology transfer, political commitment and partnership lead to more effective climate change adaptation and emissions reductions.
  
“The scientific evidence is unequivocal: climate change is a threat to human wellbeing and the health of the planet. Any further delay in concerted global action will miss a brief and rapidly closing window to secure a liveable future,” said Hans-Otto Portner.
  
http://www.ipcc.ch/2022/02/28/pr-wgii-ar6/ http://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-ii/ http://www.ipcc.ch/news/ http://news.un.org/en/story/2022/02/1112852 http://reliefweb.int/report/world/climate-change-2022-impacts-adaptation-and-vulnerability
  
28 Feb. 2022 (World Meteorological Organization)
  
Human-induced climate change is causing dangerous and widespread disruption in nature and affecting the lives of billions of people around the world, despite efforts to reduce the risks. People and ecosystems least able to cope are being hardest hit, according to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.
  
“This report is a dire warning about the consequences of inaction,” said Hoesung Lee, Chair of the IPCC. “It shows that climate change is a grave and mounting threat to our wellbeing and a healthy planet. Our actions today will shape how people and nature responds to increasing climate risks.”
  
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. Risks for society will increase, including to infrastructure and low-lying coastal settlements.
  
Increased heatwaves, droughts and floods are already exceeding plants and animals’ 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. They have exposed millions of people to acute food and water insecurity, especially in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, on Small Islands and in the Arctic.
  
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, the new report finds. These gaps are largest among lower-income populations.
  
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the report an “atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment of failed climate leadership.”
  
With fact upon fact, this report, which focuses on impacts, adaptation and vulnerability, reveals how people, and the planet, are getting “clobbered” by climate change, he said.
  
“Nearly half of humanity is living in the danger zone – now. Many ecosystems are at the point of no return – now. Unchecked carbon pollution is forcing the world’s most vulnerable on a frog march to destruction – now”.
  
The report identified 127 risks, covering a very wide range of sectors, like health, agriculture, economy, infrastructure, and ecosystems.
  
"More than 4 in 10 people in the world live in contexts highly vulnerable to climate change. Global hotspots are found in parts of Africa, Southern Asia, Small Island Developing States, and Central and South America, " WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas told a press conference.
  
In many of those countries, population growth, urbanization, and unsustainable development practices are boosting the exposure of people and ecosystems to climate change. But all countries are affected, he said.
  
"Our atmosphere today is on steroids, doped with fossil fuels. This is already leading to stronger, longer, and more frequent extreme weather events. Climate change-induced disasters come with high human and economic impacts," said Prof. Taalas.
  
"Humanity has spent centuries treating nature like its worst enemy. The truth is that nature can be our saviour – but only if we save it first, said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen.
  
Urgent action required to deal with increasing risks
  
“This report recognizes the interdependence of climate, biodiversity and people and integrates natural, social and economic sciences more strongly than earlier IPCC assessments,” said Hoesung Lee. “It emphasizes the urgency of immediate and more ambitious action to address climate risks. Half measures are no longer an option.”
  
There are options to adapt to a changing climate. This report provides new insights into nature’s potential not only to reduce climate risks but also to improve people's lives.
  
“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 Portner. “By restoring degraded ecosystems and effectively and equitably conserving 30 to 50 per cent 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.”
  
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 world views 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..”
  
28 Feb. 2022
  
It is past time to put children at the center of climate action. Today, 1 billion of the world’s most vulnerable children are at extreme risk.
  
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR6 Report:
  
“Today’s landmark Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report removes whatever shred of doubt remained: The climate crisis is not a future threat. It is here, it is accelerating, and it will continue to affect the world in increasingly devastating ways.
  
“Already, the climate crisis has exposed nearly every child, on every continent, to greater risk of more frequent, intense, and destructive climate hazards, from heatwaves and droughts to cyclones and flooding, from air pollution to vector-borne diseases.
  
“But for some children, the climate crisis is more than a heightened risk. It is a life-threatening reality.
  
“UNICEF’s recently released Children’s Climate Risk Index – the first comprehensive analysis of climate and environmental risk from a child’s perspective – shows that 1 billion children live in extremely high-risk countries where they are exposed to the most severe hazards, shocks, and stressors. The impact on these children, their families, and their futures – and therefore, their societies – is enormous.
  
“Today, 1 billion of the world’s most vulnerable children are at risk. Tomorrow, if the world fails to act, it will be all children.
  
“The evidence is irrefutable – the climate crisis is a children’s crisis. And yet, children are consistently overlooked in climate crisis response planning. Investing in the needs of children most impacted by climate change is not a priority. In many cases it is not even on the agenda.
  
“The world cannot continue to overlook children as it grapples with the existential threat of climate change and environmental degradation. It is time to put our children at the center of climate action.
  
“First and always, governments need to deliver on ambitious emissions reductions. This remains the only long-term solution, as climate adaptation has limits. But we need to take action -- right now -- to help the most vulnerable children, living in countries with the lowest per-capita emissions, adapt to the impacts of climate change, so they can survive and thrive in a rapidly changing world.
  
“Preparing countries and communities through climate resilient development with a major focus on adaptation is the most effective way to protect vulnerable children’s lives and family livelihoods. It is proven to reduce child climate risk. It builds resilience to future, expected climate shocks. It delivers real economic benefits.
  
“Yet many countries either entirely lack adaptation plans, or have plans that do not protect or address their specific and urgent needs. This means most children are still unprotected and unprepared for the intensifying impact of climate change.
  
“UNICEF is calling on every country to commit to ensuring child-centered adaptation is a centerpiece of all climate plans as a matter of highest priority.
  
“To be effective, child-centered adaptation plans and resilience measures need to be multi-sectoral, covering the critical sectors that support children’s survival and wellbeing: Water and sanitation; health, nutrition, and education; social policy and child protection. They also need to focus resources and attention on reaching the most marginalized and vulnerable children from the poorest communities.
  
Just as important, they must be developed and implemented with the engagement and participation of young people -- ensuring their voices are heard and their needs are reflected in decisions. Lastly, they must be appropriately and urgently funded and resourced.
  
“Young people have already waited too long for leaders to take the deep, drastic actions needed to limit the climate crisis. Let’s not keep them waiting for us to take the smart, strategic actions that will help them survive it.”
  
http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/today-1-billion-worlds-most-vulnerable-children-are-extreme-risk-if-world-fails-act http://data.unicef.org/resources/childrens-climate-risk-index-report/
  
28 Feb. 2022
  
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scientists confirm climate change contributing to humanitarian crises worldwide. (IFRC)
  
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) today called for urgent action and funding, particularly for those most vulnerable, to combat the devastating humanitarian impacts of the climate crisis confirmed in today’s report by world’s climate scientists.
  
For the first time, the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published today notes that climate change is already contributing to humanitarian crises in vulnerable contexts.
  
In addition, climate and weather extremes are increasingly driving displacement in every region of the world.
  
IFRC Secretary General Jagan Chapagain said: “The IPCC report confirms what the IFRC and its network of 192 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have already witnessed for years: Climate change is already disrupting the lives of billions, particularly the world’s poorest who have contributed the least to it.
  
“The global response to Covid-19 proves that governments can act decisively and drastically in the face of imminent global threats.
  
“We need the same energy and action to combat climate change now, and we need it to reach the most climate-vulnerable communities across the world so that they have the tools and funding to anticipate and manage risks.”
  
The report, authored by more than 200 climate experts, reaffirms the key principles that the Red Cross Red Crescent network has been calling for to tackle climate change: that local action is key in tackling climate change and that responding to disasters after they happen will never be enough to save lives and combat a crisis of this magnitude.
  
The latest science confirms, with very high confidence, that climate impacts and risks exacerbate vulnerabilities as well as social and economic inequities.
  
These in turn increase acute development challenges, especially in developing regions and particularly exposed sites, such as coastal areas, small islands, deserts, mountains and polar regions.
  
Maarten van Aalst, coordinating lead author of the report and Director of the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre said: “This report is a flashing red light, a big alarm for where we are today. It tells us in unequivocal scientific language that the window for concerted global action to secure a liveable future is rapidly closing.
  
“It demonstrates that all the risks we were concerned about in the past are now are now coming at us much faster. But the report also shows that it is not too late yet. We can still reduce emissions to avoid the worst.
  
“Alongside, we’ll have to manage the changes we can no longer prevent. Many of the solutions, such as better early warning systems and social safety nets, have already proven their value.
  
“If we raise our ambition to adapt to the rising risks, with priority for the most vulnerable people, we can still avoid the most devastating consequences.”
  
Feb. 2022
  
Governments must start treating the climate crisis as a national security concern on a par with war as climate breakdown threatens countries’ stability and safety, the global chief of the Red Cross has warned.
  
Jagan Chapagain, secretary general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said: “People should be seeing the climate as a national security issue, as it is having an impact on national security. We need to see that the climate crisis is not only having an environmental impact, but a very significant security impact.”
  
The Red Cross has warned that at least 1.7 billion people already face serious problems, including food and water shortages, arising from or made worse by the climate crisis.
  
Before the outbreak of Covid-19, the organisation – which works in conflict zones and with those affected by disasters – found that 2 million people a week needed humanitarian assistance owing to the impacts of climate breakdown.
  
Chapagain said: “Every inhabited part of the world is affected. Through our work in responding to disasters, we can see this is clearly having an effect – you can see it now, with the naked eye, that this is happening. Unfortunately, I don’t think we are as prepared as we should be.”
  
More people are facing hunger, water shortages and the prospect of having to move to avoid natural disasters such as floods, droughts and extreme temperatures, he said.
  
“There are impacts on displacement; we did a study last year that found more displacement from the climate than from conflict,” he said in an interview with the Guardian. Most of that displacement is currently happening within national borders, but that can still have an impact on national security and the potential for conflict, he added.
  
Governments are not used to thinking of the climate in terms of national security, said Chapagain. National security concerns are obvious in conflicts such as that in Ukraine, but he said the problems of the climate crisis were unfolding in ways not yet widely acknowledged.
  
“We must take a holistic view. The climate crisis affects national security, and this must take much greater priority for governments than it has done,” he added. “If we respond in a piecemeal fashion, we will underestimate the enormity of the climate crisis.”
  
All government departments must be included in the response to climate breakdown, Chapagain said. “There is a complete disconnect at the moment,” he added.
  
http://www.climatecentre.org/7881/ipcc-scientists-confirm-climate-change-contributing-to-humanitarian-crises-worldwide/ http://www.redcross.org.uk/stories/disasters-and-emergencies/world/the-climate-crisis
  
25 Feb. 2022
  
Extreme weather and climate events heighten humanitarian needs in Madagascar and around the world. (WFP)
  
Tropical Cyclone Emnati that made landfall in Madagascar on Wednesday, is the fourth tropical storm in as many weeks to hit one of Africa’s most vulnerable countries, threatening food security and is an example of how weather extremes will trigger runaway humanitarian needs if we do not tackle the climate crisis, warned the United Nations World Food Programme just days ahead of the launch of a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
  
Crashing into vulnerable communities already at breaking point, Cyclone Emnati is bound to deepen hunger including in southern Madagascar, which has been reeling from years of severe drought – another manifestation of the country’s vulnerability to climate extremes. Given how dry the land is in these areas, there are now concerns regarding the risk of flash floods.
  
The storms - Emnati, Dumako, Batsirai and Ana - have wrecked the island nation, causing widespread damage to agricultural land including the rice crop that was just weeks away from harvest. Cash crops have also been severely affected. In a country where the majority of people make a living from agriculture, an estimated 90 percent of crops may be destroyed in areas of affected regions.
  
The back-to-back storms have impacted market supplies with the potential to send food prices soaring and food insecurity spiralling in the coming months. Forecasts predict another tropical system already forming in the south-west Indian ocean.
  
“What we are seeing in Madagascar is extreme climate impacts – a series of storms and prolonged drought affecting hundreds of thousands of people,” said Brian Lander, WFP’s Deputy Director of Emergencies. “While WFP is providing essential food in the aftermath of the storms, we need to be equally fast in thinking about how these communities are going to adapt to this new reality.”
  
The world over, the climate crisis continues to drive global hunger. In 2020, extreme weather contributed to most of the world’s food crises and was the primary cause of acute food insecurity in 15 countries.
  
http://www.wfp.org/news/extreme-weather-and-climate-events-heighten-humanitarian-needs-madagascar-and-around-world http://www.wfp.org/stories/cop26-climate-change-hunger-famine-wfp-united-nations http://www.wfp.org/stories/42-million-people-are-knocking-famines-door-and-us66-billion-could-save-them-now-0
  
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/food-insecurity-index/ http://theconversation.com/mass-starvation-extinctions-disasters-the-new-ipcc-reports-grim-predictions-and-why-adaptation-efforts-are-falling-behind-176693 http://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-ii/ http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/ http://www.ipcc.ch/2021/08/09/ar6-wg1-20210809-pr/

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