6 Big Findings from the IPCC 2022 Report on Climate Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
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UNCCD Library
By Kelly Levin, Sophie Boehm and Rebecca Carter o
The newest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) paints a troubling picture: Climate change is already impacting every corner of the world, and much more severe impacts are in store if we fail to halve greenhouse gas emissions this decade and immediately scale up adaptation.
Following on the first installment of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report, Working Group II's contribution (released on February 28, 2022) provides a deep dive on the intensifying impacts of climate change and future risks, particularly for resource-poor countries and marginalized communities. The 2022 IPCC report also details which climate adaptation approaches are most effective and feasible, as well as which groups of people and ecosystems are most vulnerable.
Here are six takeaways from the report:
1. Climate impacts are already more widespread and severe than expected.
Climate change is already causing widespread disruption in every region in the world with just 1.1 degrees C (2 degrees F) of warming.
Withering droughts, extreme heat and record floods already threaten food security and livelihoods for millions of people. Since 2008, devastating floods and storms have forced more than 20 million people from their homes each year.
Today, half the global population faces water insecurity at least one month per year. Wildfires are scorching larger areas than ever before in many regions, leading to irreversible changes to the landscape. Higher temperatures are also enabling the spread of vector-borne diseases, such as West Nile virus, Lyme disease and malaria, as well as water-borne diseases like cholera.
Climate change is also harming species and whole ecosystems. Animals such as the golden toad and Bramble Cays Melomys (a small rodent) are now extinct due to the warming world. Other animals, such as the flying fox, seabirds and corals, are experiencing mass die-offs, while thousands more have moved to higher latitudes and elevations.
oregon wildfire
Wildfire in Lowell, Oregon. Even with just 1.1 degrees C of warming, the world is already experiencing withering droughts, extreme heatwaves and severe floods. Photo by Marcus Kauffman/Unsplash
2. We are locked into even worse impacts from climate change in the near-term.
Even if the world rapidly decarbonizes, greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere and current emissions trends will make some very significant climate impacts unavoidable through 2040. The IPCC estimates that in the next decade alone, climate change will drive 32-132 million more people into extreme poverty. Global warming will jeopardize food security, as well as increase the incidence of heat-related mortality, heart disease and mental health challenges.
For example, under a high emissions scenario, increased flood risk could lead to an additional 48,000 deaths in children under 15 years old in 2030, due to diarrhea. Species and ecosystems will face dramatic changes as well, such as mangroves failing to counteract sea level rise, declines in sea-ice dependent species and large-scale tree death.
3. Risks will escalate quickly with higher temperatures, often causing irreversible impacts of climate change.
The report finds that every tenth of a degree of additional warming will escalate threats to people, species and ecosystems. Even limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F) — a global target in the Paris Climate Agreement — is not safe for all.
For instance, with just 1.5 degrees C of global warming, many glaciers around the world will either disappear completely or lose most of their mass; an additional 350 million people will experience water scarcity by 2030; and as much as 14% of terrestrial species will face high risks of extinction. 4. Inequity, conflict and development challenges heighten vulnerability to climate risks.
Right now, 3.3 billion people live in countries highly vulnerable to climate impacts, with global hotspots concentrated in Small Island Developing States, the Arctic, South Asia, Central and South America, and much of sub-Saharan Africa.
READ FURTHER FROM THE SOURCE
The newest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) paints a troubling picture: Climate change is already impacting every corner of the world, and much more severe impacts are in store if we fail to halve greenhouse gas emissions this decade and immediately scale up adaptation.
Following on the first installment of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report, Working Group II's contribution (released on February 28, 2022) provides a deep dive on the intensifying impacts of climate change and future risks, particularly for resource-poor countries and marginalized communities. The 2022 IPCC report also details which climate adaptation approaches are most effective and feasible, as well as which groups of people and ecosystems are most vulnerable.
Here are six takeaways from the report:
1. Climate impacts are already more widespread and severe than expected.
Climate change is already causing widespread disruption in every region in the world with just 1.1 degrees C (2 degrees F) of warming.
Withering droughts, extreme heat and record floods already threaten food security and livelihoods for millions of people. Since 2008, devastating floods and storms have forced more than 20 million people from their homes each year.
Today, half the global population faces water insecurity at least one month per year. Wildfires are scorching larger areas than ever before in many regions, leading to irreversible changes to the landscape. Higher temperatures are also enabling the spread of vector-borne diseases, such as West Nile virus, Lyme disease and malaria, as well as water-borne diseases like cholera.
Climate change is also harming species and whole ecosystems. Animals such as the golden toad and Bramble Cays Melomys (a small rodent) are now extinct due to the warming world. Other animals, such as the flying fox, seabirds and corals, are experiencing mass die-offs, while thousands more have moved to higher latitudes and elevations.
oregon wildfire
Wildfire in Lowell, Oregon. Even with just 1.1 degrees C of warming, the world is already experiencing withering droughts, extreme heatwaves and severe floods. Photo by Marcus Kauffman/Unsplash
2. We are locked into even worse impacts from climate change in the near-term.
Even if the world rapidly decarbonizes, greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere and current emissions trends will make some very significant climate impacts unavoidable through 2040. The IPCC estimates that in the next decade alone, climate change will drive 32-132 million more people into extreme poverty. Global warming will jeopardize food security, as well as increase the incidence of heat-related mortality, heart disease and mental health challenges.
For example, under a high emissions scenario, increased flood risk could lead to an additional 48,000 deaths in children under 15 years old in 2030, due to diarrhea. Species and ecosystems will face dramatic changes as well, such as mangroves failing to counteract sea level rise, declines in sea-ice dependent species and large-scale tree death.
3. Risks will escalate quickly with higher temperatures, often causing irreversible impacts of climate change.
The report finds that every tenth of a degree of additional warming will escalate threats to people, species and ecosystems. Even limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F) — a global target in the Paris Climate Agreement — is not safe for all.
For instance, with just 1.5 degrees C of global warming, many glaciers around the world will either disappear completely or lose most of their mass; an additional 350 million people will experience water scarcity by 2030; and as much as 14% of terrestrial species will face high risks of extinction. 4. Inequity, conflict and development challenges heighten vulnerability to climate risks.
Right now, 3.3 billion people live in countries highly vulnerable to climate impacts, with global hotspots concentrated in Small Island Developing States, the Arctic, South Asia, Central and South America, and much of sub-Saharan Africa.
READ FURTHER FROM THE SOURCE
Keywords
climate change adaptation
climatic variability
biodiversity
drought
extreme events
facts and figures
food security
floods