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The latest report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) looks at The impacts, adaptations and vulnerabilitiesWe are three of the 270 scientists who contributed to the report on the climate crisis. The document reports stark new findings on the way current global warming of 1.1℃ is impacting natural and human systems, and on how our ability to respond will be increasingly limited with every additional increment of warming.
These are the five key points of the new report:
1. If warming is not controlled, the risks will be even greater
Since the Previous IPCC report on adaptation and impactsIn 2014, extremes such as heatwaves and droughts, wildfires, and other extremes, have increased in frequency, intensity, and duration far beyond what is natural. These hazards have severely damaged ecosystems all over the globe and sometimes led to irreversible losses, such as species extinction. Humans are also affected by increased food and water insecurity, higher incidences of vector-, food-, and water-borne diseases, as well as worse physical and mental health. Mental health.
These climate hazards will only increase if global warming is not addressed. Each degree Celsius increase in global temperature increases will cause more loss and damage.
2. Adaptation has its limits
The report says that much of the world’s current climate adaptation measures are not necessarily effective. In fact, there are both “hard” and “soft” limits. Hard limits are the ones that natural systems have that cannot be altered by human intervention, other than reducing greenhouse gas emission. For example, warm water coral reefs may completely disappear if ocean temperatures continue increasing – you can’t simply “adapt” to that.
Ethan Daniels / shutterstock
Soft limits in human systems include poor planning and insufficient finance. These could be addressed by more inclusive governance. There are also hard limits, such as water shortages on small islands or extreme weather. sea water contaminates fresh water. No amount of adaptation is going to bring an island back once it has been lost due to sea-level rising.
The IPCC also states that adaptation is not possible to prevent all Losses and damage, which are not equally distributed around the world.
3. ‘Maladaptation’ can make things worse
The IPCC cites evidence of adaptation actions that further deepen existing social inequities and lead to adverse outcomes – what’s known as “maladaptation”. One example is when a seawall is built to protect a settlement against sea-level rise but instead prevents rainwater draining, leading directly to flooding as a new danger. There is ample evidence of maladaptation, and it affects especially marginalised and vulnerable people.
Sebastian Moreira / EPA
The IPCC made a conscious effort for this report to include philosophers and anthropologists as well as other authors from disciplines not traditionally associated with climate change research. This included drawing on more qualitative social sciences to provide a richer picture about topics like vulnerability or climate justice.
This report, unlike any other IPCC reports before it, attempted to include indigenous knowledge. There are strict rules within the IPCC regarding what kind of knowledge can include, and any information that is not peer-reviewed will be deemed secondary or questionable. Although this report is an important step forward, it is not enough to ensure that knowledge such indigenous oral historyIPCC assessments.
4. Cities are a challenge – and an opportunity
More than one million people were included in the report. Low-lying settlements are at risk350 million urban dwellers are at risk of water scarcity due to sea-level rise, subsiding coastal areas, and flooding at high waves. Extreme temperatures and climate change can also lead to ongoing problems in cities like air pollution.
cinan / shutterstock
Cities can also be places of opportunity. The IPCC report outlines a range of options for urban adaption. These include physical barriers that stop flooding and rising waters, as well as nature-based solutions, such planting trees upstream in order to slow excess river flows, shade homes in heatwaves, and restoring mangroves that protect coastal communities from flooding. The report also mentions social policy measures like cash transfers to provide safety nets and insurance, as well as other types of livelihood support.
5. The window of opportunity is closing fast
The new report emphasises the need to couple adaptation measures with greenhouse gas emission reductions to enable “climate resilient development”. This will require adequate financing, inclusive governance and transparency in decision making.
Yet, the world is on a path to exceed 1.5℃ warming Within the next decade. Current development policies that accelerate greenhouse gas emissions actually increase climate misadaptation risks and increase social inequalities.
To urgently shift our collective course from 1.5℃ of warming and beyond, the report charts paths for climate-resilient development that policymakers can apply, all of which reduce climate risks while improving lives, especially among those most vulnerable to global warming. But time is running out.
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