IPCC | Emergency climate action can ensure a livable future for all

The IPCC's latest comprehensive report for 2023 was recently released. The limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius is still achievable, but cannot be passed through current policies. We need to take all small actions in all countries to accelerate the reduction of greenhouse gases and strengthen the climate adaptation capacity of areas with high climate vulnerability. This is the only way we can ensure that we have a future.

What is IPCC

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body that evaluates the science related to climate change. It was established in 1988 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to provide political leaders with regular scientific assessments of climate change. The IPCC has 195 member countries that are members of the United Nations or WMO.

Thousands of people from around the world have contributed to the work of the IPCC. For the evaluation report, experts voluntarily serve as the authors of the IPCC to evaluatethousands of scientific papers published each year to comprehensively summarize the drivers, impacts, and future risks of climate change, as well as how adaptation and mitigation can reduce these risks.

In a recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), scientists have stated that there are many feasible and effective options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to human-induced climate change, and these options are now available.

"Mainstreaming effective and equitable climate action will not only reduce losses and damage to nature and humans, but also bring broader benefits," said IPCC President Hoesung Lee. "This comprehensive report highlights the urgency of taking more ambitious action and indicates that if we take action now, we can still ensure a livable and sustainable future for all."

In 2018, the IPCC highlighted the unprecedented challenges required to control warming at 1.5 ° C. Five years later, as greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase, this challenge becomes even more severe. The speed and scale of the work done so far, as well as the current plans, are insufficient to address climate change.

For more than a century, the burning of fossil fuels and unequal and unsustainable energy and land use have led to global warming, which is 1.1 ° C higher than pre industrial levels. This has led to more frequent and intense extreme weather events, with increasingly dangerous impacts on nature and humans in every region of the world.

During this decade, accelerating action to adapt to climate change is crucial to bridgingthe gap between existing adaptation and needs. At the same time, to control climate warming at a level 1.5 ° C higher than pre industrial levels, it is necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors in an in-depth, rapid and sustained manner.

Climate, ecosystems, and society are interrelated. Effective and equitable protection of approximately 30-50% of the Earth's land, freshwater, and oceans will help ensure the health of the planet.We live in a diverse world where everyone has different responsibilities and opportunities to achieve change. Some people can do many things, while others need support to help them manage change.