Posted at 6:00 a.m.
What does the report contain?
The most recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) focuses on the impacts of climate change as well as adaptation measures. It actually contains several documents prepared by scientists from several countries. It includes, among other things, specific reports for each region of the world.
Who prepared the report?
90 scientists from 36 countries contributed to the drafting of the 36-page summary intended “for decision makers”.
270 people from 67 countries, assisted by 675 collaborators, prepared the full report.
62,418: Number of comments from experts and government officials that the IPCC received before the official publication of the report
The main findings
1.09°C
The average temperature on the planet has already warmed by 1.09°C compared to the pre-industrial era.
Bigger effects
PHOTO ASHRAF SHAZLY, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
In September 2021, torrential rains flooded a refugee camp in southern Sudan.
The extent and magnitude of the effects of climate change are greater than predicted in previous IPCC assessments. The report notes that there is already “substantial damage and increasingly irreversible loss to terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and high seas marine ecosystems”.
A growing vulnerability
“Since the RE5 [5e rapport d’évaluation du GIEC publié en 2014]there is growing evidence that human degradation and destruction of ecosystems increases people’s vulnerability,” reads the summary for policymakers.
Some pretty strong messages [du rapport] have been quite difficult to swallow and accept by some governments.
Wolfgang Cremer, geographer and one of the authors of the report, at a media briefing
3.6 billion
Between 3.3 and 3.6 billion human beings already live “in highly vulnerable contexts” to climate change.
15 times more deaths
PHOTO SAEED KHAN, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Residents of Windsor – a suburb of Sydney, Australia – watch a road engulfed in flooding caused by torrential rains on March 23
Between 2010 and 2020, deaths from floods, droughts and storms were 15 times higher than in more vulnerable than less vulnerable regions. The most vulnerable regions of the world are western, eastern and central Africa, southern Asia, Central and South America, islands in developing countries and l ‘Arctic.
Physical and mental health
Climate change is already affecting the physical and mental health of many people around the world.
New diseases
Human and animal diseases, including zoonoses, are emerging in new areas.
Several unavoidable risks
According to the IPCC, several risks “are unavoidable in the short term, whatever the emissions scenario [de GES] “. Nevertheless, several of them could be “moderate” with adaptation measures. But in a scenario where warming exceeds 1.5°C, several climate change adaptation measures could lose their effectiveness, particularly for the most vulnerable populations.
127 risks
For 127 key risks identified by the IPCC, “the impacts assessed in the medium and long term are up to several times higher than those currently observed”.
20%
PHOTO FABRICE COFFRINI, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
The Rhône glacier, in the canton of Valais in Switzerland, is covered in places with insulating foam to prevent its melting caused by global warming on October 27.
With a temperature warming of 2°C, the availability of snowmelt water for irrigation is projected to decrease by up to 20% in some river basins that rely on snowmelt.
More and more complex
PHOTO JOSH EDELSON, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
In this photo taken in September 2021, Lake Oroville, one of California’s most important reservoirs, is hit by a major drought.
The more time passes, the more the consequences of climate change will be. But that’s not all, the report concludes. “The impacts and risks associated with climate change are becoming increasingly complex and difficult to manage. »
Even more GHGs
PHOTO NELSON ALMEIDA, ARCHICES AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
The Amazon rainforest has begun to emit more carbon than it captures.
In a scenario where the average temperature increase exceeds 1.5°C, even temporarily, certain effects could lead to the emission of additional GHGs into the atmosphere.
Insufficient progress
Progress has been made in terms of adaptation to climate change, but this is insufficient, it is judged. The measures deployed are too often “small-scale” and “designed to respond to current impacts or short-term risks”. The measures deployed are also more focused on planning than their implementation.
The window closes
The report says the ‘window of opportunity’ is rapidly shrinking to deal with the climate emergency. Once the average temperature rise reaches 1.5°C, each additional percentage will make adaptation more difficult.