On March 20, the IPCC released its Synthesis Report for the Sixth Assessment Cycle in Interlaken, Switzerland, which highlighted the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The report recommended several goals to help countries adapt to climate change, including improving air quality, increasing employment opportunities, delivering equity, and accessing clean energy. To minimize the loss and damage of lives, livelihoods, and biodiversity, India should prioritize equitable action and adaptation. Additionally, accelerating efforts to address climate change can help boost healthcare through technology.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has stressed the urgent need for climate action, as evidenced by its recent release of the Synthesis Report for the Sixth Assessment Cycle on March 20 in Interlaken, Switzerland. The report underscores the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change caused by human activities through effective and equitable action. The report highlights the need for a sustainable future that is livable for all, which can only be achieved by mainstreaming climate action.
The Synthesis Report consolidates the key discoveries of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report, which draws on research from three Working Groups (WGs). WG I examined the fundamental science behind climate change; WG II assessed the impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability, and WG III analyzed the mitigation.
The report emphasizes the critical need to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, as mandated by the Paris Agreement. Despite the IPCC’s cautionary advice in 2018, greenhouse gas emissions have continued to increase, resulting in a global surface temperature rise of 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels. This has caused extreme and unforeseeable weather events, endangering human lives, economic prosperity, and the environment.
The report observes that the rise in temperature has had significant repercussions, rendering individuals more vulnerable to food scarcity and water deficits. Climate change has disproportionately impacted vulnerable populations, exacerbating their challenges. The report also underlines the economic losses and damages caused by climate change, emphasizing the need for financial remedies to foster a fairer world. Aditi Mukherji, one of the report’s 93 authors, stressed the importance of climate justice in a press release, highlighting the fact that those who have contributed the least to climate change are bearing the brunt of its consequences.
The report recommends climate-resilient development that would not only counteract the effects of climate change but also have far-reaching advantages. The report emphasizes objectives such as providing clean energy, enhancing air quality, generating employment opportunities, advancing healthcare through technology, and promoting equity as ways to adapt to climate change. Additionally, the report underscores the significance of financial investments in achieving climate goals, calling for public funding from central banks, governments, and financial regulators to reduce emissions, increase climate resilience, and safeguard marginalized communities.