A "survival guide for humanity" - what does the release of the IPCC's Synthesis Report this week mean?

The release of the IPCC’s Synthesis Report this week – a “survival guide for humanity” – delivered a powerful message: that there is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future.

“There is nothing left to debate here. It's happening. We are causing it. It's going to get a lot worse. We know how to stop it.” – James Murray , Editor in Chief, BusinessGreen .

As the IPCC Report says, “Finance, technology and international cooperation are critical enablers for accelerated climate action”. Innovation Zero is here for this exact reason. We will demonstrate not only the need for a quantum leap in action, but how we can come together to fast-track our climate efforts.

Below we highlight some of the key findings in the report...

Consequences to date:

Risk of death and migration

• Approximately 3.3–3.6 billion people live in contexts that are highly vulnerable to climate change.

Food and water risk

• Increasing extreme weather and climate events have exposed millions of people to acute food insecurity and reduced water security.
• Roughly half of the world’s population currently experience severe water scarcity for at least part of the year.

Technology and Finance

• The adoption of low-emission technologies lags in most developing countries, particularly least developed ones, due in part to limited finance, technology development and transfer, and capacity.
• Finance, technology and international cooperation are critical enablers for accelerated climate action. There is sufficient global capital to close the global investment gaps but there are barriers to redirect capital to climate action. Enhancing technology innovation systems is key to accelerate the widespread adoption of technologies and practices. Enhancing international cooperation is possible through multiple channels.

 Extreme weather effects

• Continued emissions will further affect all major climate system components. With every additional increment of global warming, changes in extremes continue to become larger. Continued global warming is projected to further intensify the global water cycle, including its variability, global monsoon precipitation, and very wet and very dry weather and climate events and seasons.
• With further warming, every region is projected to increasingly experience concurrent and multiple changes in climatic impact-drivers. Compound heatwaves and droughts are projected to become more frequent, including concurrent events across multiple locations. Due to relative sea level rise, current 1-in-100 year extreme sea level events are projected to occur at least annually in more than half of all tide gauge locations by 2100 under all considered scenarios. Other projected regional changes include intensification of tropical cyclones and/or extratropical storms, and increases in aridity and fire weather.

Increasing threat

• Continued greenhouse gas emissions will lead to increasing global warming, every increment of global warming will intensify multiple and concurrent hazards.

Taking action / positivity

• Deep, rapid, and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions would lead to a discernible slowdown in global warming within around two decades, and also to discernible changes in atmospheric composition within a few years.
• Some future changes are unavoidable and/or irreversible but can be limited by deep, rapid and sustained global greenhouse gas emissions reduction. The likelihood of abrupt and/or irreversible changes increases with higher global warming levels
• Deep, rapid and sustained mitigation - actions in this decade would reduce projected losses and damages for humans and ecosystems, and deliver many co-benefits, especially for air quality and health. Delayed mitigation and adaptation action would lock-in high-emissions infrastructure, raise risks of stranded assets and cost-escalation. Near-term actions involve high up-front investments and potentially disruptive changes that can be lessened by a range of enabling policies.

 Tipping points

• Climatic and non-climatic risks will increasingly interact, creating compound and cascading risks that are more complex and difficult to manage

Food and Land Use

• Climate-driven food insecurity and supply instability, for example, are projected to increase with increasing global warming, interacting with non-climatic risk drivers such as competition for land between urban expansion and food production, pandemics and conflict.

 Future generation risk

• Without urgent, effective, and equitable mitigation and adaptation actions, climate change increasingly threatens ecosystems, biodiversity, and the livelihoods, health and wellbeing of current and future generations.

And what are some of the industry's influential voices saying in response to the IPCC's report, which states there are 'multiple, feasible and effective options'.

“This IPCC report is a final warning that we’re about to drive off a cliff edge – we need to pump the brakes and change course urgently. It’s never been clearer what is required to reduce emissions, adapt to climate change, and ensure climate justice for all.

“We need strong political leadership and full buy in from the private sector – not just some companies, but all. Governments need to urgently increase climate finance, set targets to rapidly phase out fossil fuels and scale up clean energy to keep warming below 1.5C. We can’t afford more delay; governments must act.

Helen Clarkson , CEO, Climate Group .

"This report is a clarion call to massively fast-track climate efforts by every country and every sector and on every timeframe. In short, our world needs climate action on all fronts - everything, everywhere, all at once. As it shows, the 1.5C limit is achievable. But it will take a quantum leap in climate action… In short, our world needs climate action on all fronts — everything, everywhere, all at once.”

António Guterres , Secretary General, United Nations .

"When it comes to the UK's Net Zero Review and Mission Zero, we are clear that the UK still has an opportunity to lead on tackling climate change. But as this week's IPCC report demonstrates, that window for leadership is closing.

Rt Hon Chris Skidmore MP.

Make sure you attend www.innovationzero.com/register for free, this May 24-25 at Olympia Events to see how finance, technology and international cooperation can critically enable accelerated climate action.