News
BAMOS March 2023
9
Countries ’ current climate commitments do not add up to the shared ambition to keep temperature rise to below 2 o C . And for many countries , current trajectories of emissions would also overshoot their targets .
What ’ s more , current total investments in low-emissions technology and systems is three to six times lower than what would be needed to keep temperatures to 1.5 o C or 2 o C , according to modelling .
Likewise , on the whole not nearly enough effort is being made to understand , prepare and implement measures to adapt to climate changes . The gaps are generally biggest in developing countries , which can much less afford to invest in climate change action than rich parts of the world .
Developing countries are calling for large-scale climate finance to be provided by developed countries , and this is not happening to anywhere near the extent needed .
Predictably , issues of international equity and justice were among the thorniest in the approval of the Synthesis Report . The final version of the report frames the issue not as an irresolvable conflict , but as the opportunity for “ shifting development pathways towards sustainability ”.
The vision of most governments is for all the world to attain high standards of living , but to do so with “ climate neutral ” technologies , systems and patterns of consumption . And systems must be built so they ’ re robust to future climate change , including the nasty surprises that may come .
It must be done . It can be done . By and large , we know how to do it – and it makes economic sense to do so . In this report , the governments of the world have acknowledged as much .
Frank Jotzo is a Lead Author of the IPCC ’ s latest assessment report on climate change mitigation and member of the core writing team for the Synthesis Report . Mark Howden is a Vice Chair of the IPCC Working Group on climate impacts and adaptation and a Review Editor of the synthesis report . Both were involved in the government approval session for the IPCC Synthesis Report .
Fear & Wonder is a new climate podcast , brought to you by The Conversation . It will take you inside the IPCC ’ s era-defining climate report via the hearts and minds of the scientists who wrote it .
Hosted by award-winning climate scientist and writer Dr Joëlle Gergis ( a lead author of the Sixth Assessment Report ) alongside Michael Green , a journalist and award-winning author and podcaster , Fear & Wonder will take listeners inside the defining scientific advice on the climate crisis and examine the processes and findings of the report .
The first episode dropped on March 23 . Learn more
here , or subscribe on your favourite podcast app .
Fear and Wonder is sponsored by the
Climate Council , an independent , evidence-based organisation working on climate science , impacts and solutions .