IPCC Releases New Synthesis Report

At the 58^th meeting of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), down to the wire, every last word was up for debate: nevertheless, after a week of negotiations – two days longer than planned, and with talks continuing around the clock – there was thunderous applause in Interlaken, Switzerland when the delegates tentatively approved the last few lines of the new Synthesis Report. The delegates then thanked IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee, the IPCC Secretariat, and the authors with a standing ovation for their hard work and their vital contributions to the IPCC’s findings in the sixth reporting cycle.

The report was constantly reviewed until Sunday evening, when it was approved. Today, the Panel will present the outcomes at an international press conference. “The implementation of effective and just climate protection measures will not only reduce the loss of and harm to the natural environment and human beings, but also yield further benefits,” said IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee. “This Synthesis Report underscores the urgent need for more ambitious measures and shows that, if we act now, we can still ensure a liveable, sustainable future for all.”

In a press release on the report, the IPCC stresses that the speed and scope of the measures implemented and planned to date are insufficient to combat climate change. Greenhouse-gas emissions have risen further since the last report and led to global warming of 1.1 degrees Celsius in comparison to the preindustrial level, it claims. In order to limit warming to 1.5 degrees, emissions must be reduced in all sectors and virtually cut in half by 2030. Globally, there is sufficient capital to achieve this, but governments must – by allocating public funding, for example – send clear signals to the financial world, moving it to make massive investments in climate-friendly technologies and projects.