In the city of Incheon, South Korea, between October 1 and 5, 2018, the 48th Session of the IPCC, Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Climate Change or Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and the First Session of the Group took place. of Work I, II and III.
At this meeting, the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report was presented, whose main objective is to limit the rise in temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius from its pre-industrial level. This goal, according to said report, will require "unprecedented changes" at a social and global level, due to the seriousness of the planet's situation due to the sustained increase in world temperature, with all its consequences.
What is the IPCC?
The IPCC is an international organization, established in 1988 with the cooperation of two UN organizations: the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland, and its current president is Hoesung Lee, elected on October 6, 2015. The first Report was published in 1990, the second in 1995, the third in 2001, and the fourth in 2007.
Many countries from all continents are part of the IPCC. Meetings are held once or twice a year. The IPCC has internationally accepted authority on climate change and to make relevant recommendations.
The Organization does not conduct research on its own, nor does it monitor weather-related phenomena. The main activity of the IPCC is to publish special reports on relevant issues on Climate Change. To do this, it uses the research of hundreds of scientists and experts who carry out the work on a voluntary basis. Its conclusions are reviewed by representatives of all governments.
The decision to prepare the Fifth Assessment Report was taken by the IPCC members at their 28th meeting, held in Budapest, Hungary, on April 9-10, 2008. The three working groups have different tasks. Group I is in charge of producing the necessary scientific basis. Group II is dedicated to the effects of climate, adaptation and vulnerability. Group III investigates mitigation.
The IPCC press release
In the press release issued by the IPCC, we can read that the Organization approved the Special Report on global warming of 1.5 ° C on October 6. In addition, she anticipates that "This report will be a fundamental scientific contribution to the Climate Change Conference to be held in December in Katowice (Poland), where governments will examine the Paris Agreement to address climate change."
The full name of the report is "Global Warming 1.5 ° C, IPCC Special Report on Impacts." Contains main statistics on global warming. It was made by 91 authors of 44 nationalities and 40 countries of residence. 14 lead authors coordinated the working groups, in addition to 60 other authors, 17 editor-reviewers, 133 contributing authors. Contains more than 6,000 references. 42,001 review observations were made by experts and governments.
According to the IPCC, limiting global warming to 1.5 ° C instead of 2 ° C would have important benefits for humanity and natural ecosystems, and would lead the way towards a more sustainable and equitable society.
Statements by some IPCC officials
“One of the fundamental messages thrown in a forceful way by the report is that we are already experiencing the consequences of global warming of 1 ° C, with more extreme weather conditions, rising sea levels and waning sea ice in the Arctic, among others changes, ”said Panmao Zhai, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group I.
Hans-Otto Pörtner, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group II, stated: “The probability that the Arctic Ocean would be ice-free in summer would be once per century with global warming of 1.5 ° C, compared to a minimum of once per decade with one of 2 ° C. Coral reefs would decrease between 70% and 90% with a global warming of 1.5 ° C, while practically all of them (> 99%) would disappear with one of 2 ° C. Every extra bit of warming matters, especially as warming of 1.5 ° C or more increases the risk associated with lasting or irreversible changes, such as the loss of some ecosystems.
"The good news is that some types of measures that would be needed to limit global warming to 1.5 ° C are already underway around the world, but they would need to be accelerated," said Valerie Masson-Delmotte, Group Co-Chair of Work I.
The report stresses that limiting global warming to 1.5 ° C would require "fast and far-reaching transitions in land, energy, industry, buildings, transport and cities."
It emphasizes the need for global net human carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to decline by around 45% in 2030 from 2010 levels, and to continue to decline until reaching 'net zero' around 2050.
The report states that, if global temperature is allowed to exceed 1.5 ° C, "it would be necessary to rely more heavily on techniques that absorb CO2 from the atmosphere to return to global warming below 1.5 ° C by 2100". But he cautions that the effectiveness of these techniques is unproven on a large scale and some may carry significant risks to sustainable development.
"Limiting global warming to 1.5 ° C instead of 2 ° C would reduce problematic impacts on ecosystems, human health and well-being, and facilitate the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals," said Priyardarshi Shukla, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group III.
"The decisions we make today are critical to ensuring a safe and sustainable world for all, both now and in the future," said Debra Roberts, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group II.
“This report provides policy makers and practitioners with the information they need to make decisions to tackle climate change taking into account the local context and the needs of people. The next few years are probably the most important in our history, ”added Debra Roberts.
Positive achievements of the Incheon meeting
Without a doubt, the five-day meeting in the South Korean city had the merit of making headlines in a large number of media around the world, only comparable to the announcement of the approval of the Paris Agreement in 2015. On social networks and in the Websites markedly increased the number of people who entered to seek information and comment on the issue.
This is positive, because generally the interest of the general public for these issues is very low. Let's put it clearly: global warming and climate change are not popular topics.
The wide dissemination of the IPCC report caused millions of people to turn their heads to the seriousness and urgency of the announced dangers. Furthermore, the report showed us that the problems are not for 2080 or the end of the century. The IPCC has officially informed us that the problems are here, already, at this moment. Heroic and urgent action must be taken between now and 2030 if we do not want the situation to get out of hand.
Concern
Regarding the issue of 0.5 ° C, around which the report revolves, we are concerned that such a small variation could have such important effects on the planet's climate.
We are also concerned with how to lower that ½ grade. Because while hundreds of scientists work selflessly and ad-honorem in the field, collecting thousands of data for their reports, and others on the premises of the offices reviewing and correcting the works that have been delivered, outside there is another reality. New oil fields continue to be eagerly sought; more countries join to implement the extraction of fossil fuels through non-traditional techniques such as fracking; Hundreds of truckloads of tree trunks continue to be extracted from at least ten forests around the world, including those in the Amazon rainforest. Seas and oceans continue to be polluted with plastics, industrial landfills and sewage. Before our eyes the parts per million of CO2 jumped the psychological barrier of 400 PPM,that had stayed below this value for millions of years.
If 0.5 ° C more or 0.5 ° C less can cause that big difference in the stability of the climate, as the IPCC has just announced, we do not want to imagine what would happen with 1, 2, 3 or 4 degrees more so if greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, deforestation of forests and water pollution are not stopped.
Measures are urgently required to force those involved in these fields to reduce their activities. Just building more solar panels, windmills, and electric cars won't be enough. Less in a scenario that cuts response times due to the acceleration of the effects of climate change.
Source:
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. IPCC Fifth Assessment Report: Climate Change. Retrieved from
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