Yokohama, Japan, 31
March - The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) issued a report today that
says the effects of climate change are already
occurring on all continents and across the
oceans. The world, in many cases, is ill-prepared
for risks from a changing climate. The report
also concludes that there are opportunities
to respond to such risks, though the risks
will be difficult to manage with high levels
of warming.
The report, titled Climate
Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability,
from Working Group II of the IPCC, details
the impacts of climate change to date, the
future risks from a changing climate, and
the opportunities for effective action to
reduce risks. A total of 309 coordinating
lead authors, lead authors, and review editors,
drawn from 70 countries, were selected to
produce the report. They enlisted the help
of 436 contributing authors, and a total
of 1,729 expert and government reviewers.
The report concludes
that responding to climate change involves
making choices about risks in a changing
world. The nature of the risks of climate
change is increasingly clear, though climate
change will also continue to produce surprises.
The report identifies vulnerable people,
industries, and ecosystems around the world.
It finds that risk from a changing climate
comes from vulnerability (lack of preparedness)
and exposure (people or assets in harm's
way) overlapping with hazards (triggering
climate events or trends). Each of these
three components can be a target for smart
actions to decrease risk.
UN Under-Secretary-General
and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner
said: "The latest science cited by
the IPCC assessment provides conclusive
scientific evidence that human activities
are causing unprecedented changes in the
Earth's climate. It is time to take immediate
and robust action to mitigate the impacts
of climate change. The clock is ticking
and time is not on our side. As recent studies
show, greenhouse gas emissions at or above
current rates would induce changes in the
oceans, ice caps, glaciers, the biosphere
and other components of the climate system.
Some of these changes would very likely
be unprecedented over decades to thousands
of years. Limiting climate change would
require substantial and sustained reductions
in emissions of carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gasses."
"Climate change
is a long term challenge but one that requires
urgent action today, given the risks of
a more that 2 degrees C temperature rise.
For those who want to focus on the scientific
question marks, that is their right to do
so. But today, we need to focus on the fundamentals
and on actions. Otherwise the risks we run
will get higher with every passing day,"
he added.
"We live in an
era of man -made climate change," said
Vicente Barros, Co -Chair of Working Group
II. "In many cases, we are not prepared
for the climate -related risks that we already
face. Investments in better preparation
can pay dividends both for the prese nt
and for the future."
Adaptation to reduce
the risks from a changing climate is now
starting to occur, but with a stronger focus
on reacting to past events than on preparing
for a changing future, according to Chris
Field, Co-Chair of Working Group II.
"Climate -change
adaptation is not an exotic agenda that
has never been tried. Governments, firms,
and communities around the world are building
experience with adaptation," Field
said. "This experience forms a starting
point for bolder, more ambitious adaptations
that will be important as climate and society
continue to change."
Future risks from a
changing climate depend strongly on the
amount of future climate change. Increasing
magnitudes of warming increase the likelihood
of severe and pervasive impacts that may
be surprising or irreversible.
"With high levels
of warming that result from continued growth
in greenhouse gas emissions, risks will
be challenging to manage, and even serious,
sustained investments in adaptation will
face limits," said Field.
Observed impacts of
climate change have already affected agriculture,
human health, ecosystems on land and in
the oceans, water supplies, and some people's
livelihoods. The striking feature of observed
impacts is that they are occurring from
the tropics to the poles, from small islands
to large continents, and from the wealthiest
countries to the poorest.
"The report concludes
that people, societies, and ecosystems are
vulnerable around the world, but with different
vulnerability in different places. Climate
change often interact s with other stresses
to increase risk," Field said.
Adaptation can play
a key role in decreasing these risks, Barros
noted. "Part of the reason adaptation
is so important is that the world faces
a host of risks from climate change already
baked into the climate system, due to past
emissions and existing infrastructure, "
said Barros.
Field added: "Understanding
that climate change is a challenge in managing
risk opens a wide range of opportunities
for integrating adaptation with economic
and social development and with initiatives
to limit future warming. We definitely face
challenges, but understanding those challenges
and tackling them creatively can make climate
-change adaptation an important way to help
build a mo re vibrant world in the near
-term and beyond."
Rajendra Pachauri, Chair
of the IPCC, said: "The Working Group
II report is another important step forward
in our understanding of how to reduce and
manage the risks of climate change. Along
with the reports from Working Group I and
Working Group III, it provides a conceptual
map of not only the essential features of
the climate challenge but the options for
solutions."
The Working Group I
report was released in September 2013, and
the Working Group III repo rt will be released
in April 2014. The IPCC Fifth Assessment
Report cycle concludes with the publication
of its Synthesis Report in October 2014.
"None of this would
be possible without the dedication of the
Co -Chairs of Working Group II and the hundred
s of scientists and experts who volunteered
their time to produce this report, as well
as the more than 1,700 expert reviewers
worldwide who contributed their invaluable
oversight," Pachauri said. "The
IPCC's reports are some of the most ambitious
scientific undertakings in human history,
and I am humbled by and grateful for the
contributions of everyone who make them
possible."
About the IPCC
The Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change is the international
body for assessing the science related to
climate change. It was set up in 1988 by
the World Meteorological Organization and
the United Nations Environment Programme
to provide policymakers with regular assessments
of the scientific basis of climate change,
its impacts and future risks, and options
for adaptation and mitigation.
Working Group II, which
assesses impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability,
is co -chaired by Vicente Barros of the
University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and
Chris Field of the Carnegie Institution
for Science, USA. The Technical Support
Unit of Working Group II is hosted by the
Carnegie Institution for Science and funded
by the government of the United States of
America.
At the 28th Session
of the IPCC held in April 2008, the members
of the IPCC decided to prepare a Fifth Assessment
Report (AR5). A Scoping Meeting was convened
in July 2009 to develop the scope and outline
of the AR 5. The resulting outlines for
the three Working Group contributions to
the AR5 were approved at the 31st Session
of the IPCC in October 2009.
A total of 309 coordinating
lead authors, lead authors, and review editors,
representing 70 countries, were selected
to produce the Working Group II report.
They enlisted the help of 436 contributing
authors, and a total of 1729 expert and
government reviewers provided comments on
drafts of the report. For the Fifth Assessment
Report as a whole, a total of 83 7 coordinating
lead authors, lead authors, and review editors
participated.
The Working Group II
report consists of two volumes. The first
contains a Summary for Policymakers, Technical
Summary, and 20 chapters assessing risks
by sector and opportunities for response.
The sectors include freshwater resources,
terrestrial and ocean ecosystems, coasts,
food, urban and rural areas, energy and
industry, human health and security, and
livelihoods and poverty. A second volume
of 10 chapters assesses risks and opportunities
for response by region. These regions include
Africa, Europe, Asia, Australasia, North
America, Central and South America, Polar
Regions, Small Islands, and the Ocean.
