There are multiple, feasible and effective options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to human-caused climate change, and they are available now, said scientists in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released March 20.
The IPCC's latest synthesis report is over 8000 pages long. World Resources Institute did a fantastic job capturing the 10 key takeaways of this dire warning to humanity.
Main points:
1. Human-induced global warming of 1.1 degrees C has spurred changes to the Earth’s climate that are unprecedented in recent human history.
2. Climate impacts on people and ecosystems are more widespread and severe than expected, and future risks will escalate rapidly with every fraction of a degree of warming.
3. Adaptation measures can effectively build resilience, but more finance is needed to scale solutions.
4. Some climate impacts are already so severe they cannot be adapted to, leading to losses and damages.
5. Global GHG emissions peak before 2025 in 1.5 degrees C-aligned pathways.
6. The world must rapidly shift away from burning fossil fuels — the number one cause of the climate crisis.
7. We also need urgent, systemwide transformations to secure a net-zero, climate-resilient future.
8. Carbon removal is now essential to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C.
9. Climate finance for both mitigation and adaptation must increase dramatically this decade.
10. Climate change — as well as our collective efforts to adapt to and mitigate it — will exacerbate inequity should we fail to ensure a just transition.
More information available at https://www.ipcc.ch/2023/03/20/press-release-ar6-synthesis-report/
Read the full AR6 Synthesis Report
