4
IPCC assessments provide governments, at all levels, with scientific information
that they can use to develop climate policies. IPCC assessments are a key input into
the international negotiations to tackle climate change. IPCC reports are drafted and
reviewed in several stages, thus guaranteeing objectivity and transparency (IPCC
2019). Because of the transparency of its assessment processes and the quality of its
scientific assessment, IPCC’s analyses are widely respected around the world and
among scientific organizations whose members engage in research relevant to climate change policy issues.
The IPCC assesses the thousands of scientific papers published each year to tell
policymakers what we know and don’t know about the risks related to climate
change. The IPCC identifies where there is agreement in the scientific community,
where there are differences of opinion, and where further research is needed. It does
not conduct its own research (IPCC 2019).
In October of 2018, IPCC issued a Special Report on limiting warming to the
Paris Agreement’s warming limit goals of as close as possible to 1.5 °C but no more
than 2.0 °C (IPCC 2018).
This report concluded that significant climate impacts already occur at 1.5 °C,
especially in regard to low-lying areas, human health, and oceans (WRI 2018).
These impacts will hit the poor and most vulnerable the hardest due to loss of livelihoods, food insecurity, population displacement, health effects and other causes of
social disruption. This report also compared the climate change harms from 1.5 °C
warming compared to harms caused by 2.0 °C warming.
This Special Report of IPCC on 1.5 °C Warming received attention around the
world for alerting many that climate change was more threatening than expected.
See for instance, the “National Geographic Report, “Climate change impacts worse
than expected” which explained how the IPCC Special Report made many aware
that climate change was more ominous than they previously understood (National
Geographic 2018).
Since the IPCC Special Report was published, several scientific reports have
been published which support the conclusions that the IPCC conclusions have been
underestimating likely climate change impacts.
On July 31, 2018, a paper was published in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences which should create a shiver of fear in all humans everywhere. The paper, “Trajectories of the Earth System in the Anthropocene” by
Steffen et al. explains how human-induced warming is rapidly approaching levels
that may trigger positive climate feedbacks which could greatly accelerate the
warming already plaguing the world by causing record floods, deadly heat waves
and droughts, increasing tropical diseases, forest fires, more intense and damaging
storms, sea level rise, coral bleaching, and acidification of oceans, all of which are
contributing to increasing the number of refugees which are destabilizing governments around the world.
Another paper published in August 2018 concluded that models used to predict
climate impacts have failed to incorporate abrupt carbon feedbacks from permafrost
decay that recent evidence has revealed are now possible (Anthony et al. 2018). In
fact, this paper claims that early stages of processes that lead to permafrost
D. A. Brown
IPCC assessments provide governments, at all levels, with scientific information
that they can use to develop climate policies. IPCC assessments are a key input into
the international negotiations to tackle climate change. IPCC reports are drafted and
reviewed in several stages, thus guaranteeing objectivity and transparency (IPCC
2019). Because of the transparency of its assessment processes and the quality of its
scientific assessment, IPCC’s analyses are widely respected around the world and
among scientific organizations whose members engage in research relevant to climate change policy issues.
The IPCC assesses the thousands of scientific papers published each year to tell
policymakers what we know and don’t know about the risks related to climate
change. The IPCC identifies where there is agreement in the scientific community,
where there are differences of opinion, and where further research is needed. It does
not conduct its own research (IPCC 2019).
In October of 2018, IPCC issued a Special Report on limiting warming to the
Paris Agreement’s warming limit goals of as close as possible to 1.5 °C but no more
than 2.0 °C (IPCC 2018).
This report concluded that significant climate impacts already occur at 1.5 °C,
especially in regard to low-lying areas, human health, and oceans (WRI 2018).
These impacts will hit the poor and most vulnerable the hardest due to loss of livelihoods, food insecurity, population displacement, health effects and other causes of
social disruption. This report also compared the climate change harms from 1.5 °C
warming compared to harms caused by 2.0 °C warming.
This Special Report of IPCC on 1.5 °C Warming received attention around the
world for alerting many that climate change was more threatening than expected.
See for instance, the “National Geographic Report, “Climate change impacts worse
than expected” which explained how the IPCC Special Report made many aware
that climate change was more ominous than they previously understood (National
Geographic 2018).
Since the IPCC Special Report was published, several scientific reports have
been published which support the conclusions that the IPCC conclusions have been
underestimating likely climate change impacts.
On July 31, 2018, a paper was published in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences which should create a shiver of fear in all humans everywhere. The paper, “Trajectories of the Earth System in the Anthropocene” by
Steffen et al. explains how human-induced warming is rapidly approaching levels
that may trigger positive climate feedbacks which could greatly accelerate the
warming already plaguing the world by causing record floods, deadly heat waves
and droughts, increasing tropical diseases, forest fires, more intense and damaging
storms, sea level rise, coral bleaching, and acidification of oceans, all of which are
contributing to increasing the number of refugees which are destabilizing governments around the world.
Another paper published in August 2018 concluded that models used to predict
climate impacts have failed to incorporate abrupt carbon feedbacks from permafrost
decay that recent evidence has revealed are now possible (Anthony et al. 2018). In
fact, this paper claims that early stages of processes that lead to permafrost
D. A. Brown