IPCC Sixth Assessment Report 3rd Instalment

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) just issued part three of its Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). Ecosystems, biodiversity, and human communities are examined in the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report by Working Group II, which examines the effects of climate change. It also examines climate change’s impacts on the natural world and human communities and their capacity and limitations to adapt. The second part of the report discussed climate change consequences, dangers, and vulnerabilities, released in March 2022. In 2021, the report’s first section, which dealt with the physical science of climate change, was released. Before 2040, it had been predicted that the temperature would rise by 1.5 degrees Celsius due to Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions.

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions

• Greenhouse Gas emissions from human activity reached 59 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e) in 2019, an increase of 54% from 1990. There has been an increase in CO2 emissions and methane emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels and the industrial sector

• However, the growth of greenhouse gas emissions dropped to a 1.3% annual average rate between 2010 and 2019, compared to a 2.1% yearly average between 2000 and 2009

• Decarbonisation of the energy system, energy efficiency measures, and a reduction in energy consumption has helped at least 18 countries reduce Greenhouse gas emissions for more than a decade

Least Developed Countries Emissions

• In 2019, the Least Developed countries’ emissions were only 3.3% of global emissions, illustrating the pervasiveness of carbon disparity

• Between 1850 and 2019, the Least Developed countries’ emissions were less than 0.4% of all historical CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and industry

Abundant and Affordable Solutions Exist

• To meet the 1.5°C goals, widespread “system reforms” are needed in the energy, buildings, transportation, and land-use sectors, necessitating low- or zero-carbon development. In any case, low-cost options do exist

• Since 2010, the cost of low-emissions technologies has been steadily decreasing. Since 2010, the amount of time they’ve been in use has multiplied by ten

• Several mitigation options, such as solar and wind energy, electric city systems, green infrastructure in urban areas (such as rain gardens), energy efficiency, demand-side management, and better forest and crop/grassland management, as well as reduced food waste and loss, are listed in the report as having “high confidence”

• The report’s remedies include reducing fossil fuel consumption in the energy sector, implementing demand management and energy efficiency in the industrial sector, and applying the principles of sufficiency and efficiency in the construction of buildings

Pledges to the Paris Agreement are inadequate

• The IPCC concludes that global warming is likely to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius by this century, contrary to the Paris Agreement’s stated goal of no more than 2 degrees Celsius

• According to the IPCC’s best-case scenario, known as the C1 pathway, the world must do what it must to keep global temperatures from rising by more than 1.5°C

• By 2030, global GHG emissions must be 43% lower than in 2019; a reduction of 31 GtCO2e is required to reach the C1 route. It’s also necessary to reduce the use of coal (95%) as well as oil (60%) and gas (45%) by 2050 compared to 2019

In the long run, emission reductions are more cost-effective than initially.

• According to the IPCC, climate mitigation methods that cost less than $100 per tCO2e might have global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The long-term advantages of reducing global warming outweigh the short-term disadvantages by a wide margin

• According to the report, to keep warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), global GDP would have to fall by a few percentage points in 2050. This is without accounting for the economic benefits of reduced adaptation costs or avoided climate impacts

Close the gaps with Sufficient Global Capital and Liquidity

• However, financial flows fall short of meeting the high mitigation targets. Agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) and underdeveloped countries have the biggest discrepancies
• Nevertheless, the IPCC claims that “sufficient global capital and liquidity” exist in the financial system to fill in these holes

Conclusion

Despite efforts to mitigate the effects of human-induced climate change, the natural world is being severely disrupted, and billions of lives are being affected. According to a new study from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), climate change is wreaking havoc on the most vulnerable people and ecosystems. According to IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee, the report provides a “dreadful warning” about the implications of inaction. Climate change poses an increasingly significant and dangerous threat to our well-being and the health of our planet.” Our decisions now will have a direct impact on how people and the environment respond to climate change.”