The UN Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change (IPCC)
The United Nations formed the Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988 to provide policymakers with regular scientific assessments (usually about every 7 years) on climate change, its implications and potential future risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation options. Through its assessments, the IPCC determines the state of knowledge on climate change. It has produced six Assessment Reports as of 2022. Thousands of scientists from all over the world contribute to the work of the IPCC. The panel divides each assessment into three reports. Regarding the 6th and most recent assessment, the first report on what’s driving global warming, came out August of 2021. The second, on climate change’s effects on our world and our ability to adapt to them, was released in February, 2022. The third, on how we can cut emissions and limit further warming was released on April 4, 2022 and this information is from that report. It was compiled by 278 experts from 65 countries.
World on ‘fast track to climate disaster’, says UN Secretary General
World on 'fast track to climate disaster', say UN secretary general
Quote from a New York Times article on the 6th IPCC assessment, entitled Stopping Climate Change Is Doable, but Time Is Short, U.N. Panel Warns by Brad Plumer and Raymond Zhong, April 4, 2022
“The report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a body of experts convened by the United Nations, warns that unless countries drastically accelerate efforts over the next few years to slash their emissions from coal, oil and natural gas, the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, will likely be out of reach by the end of this decade.
That’s the threshold beyond which scientists say the dangers of global warming — including worsening floods, droughts, wildfires and ecosystem collapse — grow considerably. Humans have already heated the planet by an average of 1.1 degrees Celsius since the 19th century, largely by burning fossil fuels for energy.
But the task is daunting: Holding warming to just 1.5 degrees Celsius would require nations to collectively reduce their planet-warming emissions roughly 43 percent by 2030 and to stop adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere altogether by the early 2050s, the report found. By contrast, current policies by governments are only expected to reduce global emissions by a few percentage points this decade. Last year, fossil fuel emissions worldwide rebounded to near-record highs after a brief dip as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.”
The April 4th, 2022 IPCC report suggests ways that governments from all countries can create and implement policy to support the healing of the Earth. Clearly, governments have their work cut out for them. Policy making takes time and lots of negotiating. Time is of essence.
Excerpts from New York Times article Stopping Climate Change Is Doable, but Time Is Short, U.N. Panel Warns by Brad Plumer and Raymond Zhong
**“**The new report examines dozens of strategies proposed by scientists and energy experts to help nations make the transition.
First, countries would need to clean up virtually all power plants worldwide that generate electricity for homes and factories. That means relying more on wind, solar, nuclear, geothermal or hydropower. Most of the world’s coal and natural gas plants would either need to shut down or install carbon capture technology that can trap emissions and bury them underground. Such technology has been slow to take off because of its high costs.
The next step would be to reconfigure transportation, industry and other segments of the global economy to run on clean electricity rather than fossil fuels. Cars powered by gasoline could be replaced with electric vehicles charged by low-carbon grids. Gas-burning furnaces in homes could be swapped out for electric heat pumps. Instead of burning coal, steel mills could shift to electric furnaces that melt scrap.
At the same time, nations could take steps to reduce their total energy demand. That could entail expanding public transit, upgrading insulation so homes consume less energy, recycling more raw materials and making factories more energy efficient. At the high end, such demand-side policies could help cut emissions in key sectors as much as 40 to 70 percent by 2050, the report notes.
But many economic activities can’t be easily electrified. Batteries are still too heavy for most airplanes. Many industries, like cement and glass, require extreme heat and currently burn coal or gas. For those emissions, governments and businesses will have to develop new fuels and industrial processes, the report said.
Countries will also need to address emissions from deforestation and agriculture, which account for around a fifth of global greenhouse gases. That means dealing with issues like global meat production, which emits methane and carbon dioxide, and is causing rampant deforestation in vital places like the Amazon rainforest.
Forests and wetlands naturally store carbon dioxide, which makes sparing them from destruction a highly effective and economical way to mitigate warming, said Stephanie Roe, a World Wildlife Fund scientist who helped write the report. “I can’t reiterate enough the importance of conserving those ecosystems,” she said.
Even in the best case, humanity is unlikely to eliminate all of its planet warming emissions, the report warned. So countries will likely also have to devise ways to remove billions of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year by around midcentury. One strategy could be to plant more trees, although that may not be enough, the report cautioned. Other options include devices that suck carbon out of the air, though these technologies are still immature.
The report acknowledges the enormous challenges ahead. Winding down coal, oil and gas projects would mean job losses and financial dislocation. Some climate solutions come with major trade-offs: Protecting forests, for instance, leaves less land for growing crops or raising livestock to feed a world population that keeps growing.”
The Citizens’ Climate Lobby organization suggests ways political will can be influenced:
https://citizensclimatelobby.org/about-ccl/levers-of-political-will/
What is the U.S. federal government doing? Following are the seven goals for the U.S. government as reported in The Fact Sheet on President Biden’s Executive Action to Tackle the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, released on January 27, 2021.