Strong need for adjustment
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shows drastic consequences of climate change
Marine biologist Hans-Otto Pörtner says the world is in the crucial decade to turn things around on climate change. Photo: Georg Wendt/dpa
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Climate change has long been here, and the consequences are becoming more and more visible. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the worst consequences can still be averted with adaptation – but not without far-reaching upheavals.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports today on the drastic consequences of man-made climate change for people and nature.
The world is in the crucial decade to turn things around and avert the worst consequences, said the co-chair of the responsible working group of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), marine biologist Hans-Otto Pörtner, before the publication.
“There is only a limited period of time in which successful action can be initiated,” he added. This would require a massive reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, but also adjustments to avert danger to life and limb as far as possible.
Argument: mitigating climate change is cheaper
The report is likely to argue that climate change adaptation and mitigation will cost the world far more cheaply than the consequences of a significant rise in temperature.
The report may also recommend restoring and protecting natural spaces. According to science, radical changes in lifestyle are also necessary: Eating less meat, for example, because huge agricultural areas are needed for grazing. Forests that could absorb climate-damaging CO2 are often cleared for this purpose, or areas on which food could be grown are taken away.
Climate change: turnaround needed for buildings and mobility
Meteorologist and co-author Daniela Jacob spoke in advance of a necessary heating transition in the building sector and a mobility transition: more climate-neutral cycling instead of driving or taking the train instead of flying. The added value must be made clear, she said: “What is good for me and my health today is also good for the climate. A more climate-resilient world is also a more beautiful world.”
The report wants to make it clear how important it is to dovetail climate protection and nature conservation. Careless climate protection measures could accelerate the loss of biodiversity. Monocultures such as huge rapeseed or corn fields for the production of biofuel are an example.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Geneva was founded in 1988 as a UN body. He is currently presenting the 6th status report on climate research. This includes three parts. The first, on the basics of science, was published in August 2021.
Third part of report expected in April
Today, the second part is about the consequences and necessary adjustments. The third part deals with the technical and economic possibilities to reduce climate change. He is expected in April.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the average global temperature between 2010 and 2019 was around 1.1 degrees higher than in the pre-industrial era (1850-1900) due to man-made greenhouse gases. Since the 5th status report in 2014 alone, it has risen by a further 0.2 degrees.
The consequences are visible today in practically all parts of the world: devastating forest fires such as in the Mediterranean region and in the western USA, floods such as in the Ahr and Erft region in July 2021, heat waves such as in Siberia and other extreme weather events.
According to the climate agreement, the countries of the world are striving to limit warming to 1.5 degrees. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, this level is likely to be reached or exceeded in the next 20 years. According to studies, significantly higher warming would have catastrophic consequences.