IPCC report on the state of climate change

Green Party TD for Waterford Marc Ó Cathasaigh says that everyone has to work together now to deal with the effects of climate change which is no longer in our future but is very much in the here and now. He was speaking after the publication of the first part of the sixth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) assessment on the state of climate change. The assessment finds that climate change is widespread, rapid and intensifying; that many of the changes observed in the climate are unprecedented in thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of years; and that some of the changes already set in motion – such as continued sea level rise – are irreversible over hundreds to thousands of years. 

Reacting to the report, Deputy Ó Cathasaigh said;

“This sobering report sets out in the clearest terms yet, the scale of the challenge we face in terms of tackling Climate Breakdown. Hundreds of global experts have worked on the report and their assessment finds that we will continue to see extreme weather with devastating outcomes due to the increase in temperature. Our climate is breaking down before our eyes and we have seen it ourselves this summer with dangerous and destructive weather at home and abroad. The best time to act on climate change was 10 years ago and the next best time is right now. Some of the changes outlined in the report are irreversible so time is running out.”

“The Climate Act was recently passed by the government putting us on a path to net-zero emissions by 2050 at the latest. This is the first crucial step in Ireland playing our part in meeting this challenge. Publication of The Climate Action Plan is the next step and this will set out what we need to do this decade and it will outline the changes we need to make in how we get around, heat our homes, produce our food, generate our energy and live our lives. We need a collective effort from everyone to achieve this with buy in from politicians from all parties and none. Failure to act now will impact on vulnerable populations at home and abroad. We know what we have to do but time is running out for us to do it.”

More Information on the IPCC Report

• The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) is the UN body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide political leaders with periodic scientific assessments concerning climate change, its implications and risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation strategies. In the same year the UN General Assembly endorsed the action by the WMO and UNEP in jointly establishing the IPCC. It has 195 member states.

• The report – Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – addresses the most updated physical understanding of the climate system and climate change. The IPCC report can be found here. The Summary for Policy Makers and the FAQs are particularly useful.  

• The report involves 234 authors from 66 countries, plus 517 contributing authors and contains more than 14,000 cited references.

• IPCC assessments provide governments, at all levels, with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies. IPCC assessments are a key input into the international negotiations to tackle climate change.