Time is of the essence in the race against climate change

7 Apr 2022 12:02 PM

EXPERT COMMENT

The release of the latest IPCC report shows it is now or never to take action on the climate crisis.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has published the third – and final – report in its Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) triad on the state of climate change and the world’s response.  

The first report, on climate science, was published in the run up to COP26 last year. The headline ‘Code Red for Humanity’ resonated across a world reeling from an unprecedented pandemic, wildfires and flooding across the affluent Global North.

But, just a few months later, amid the first days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the second report on adaptation barely registered with the media despite being called ‘an atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment of failed climate leadership.’  

The latest IPCC report on mitigation highlights how humanity now faces its last chance to take drastic and transformative steps to reduce global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, laying out pathways for action within a rapidly closing window to secure a liveable future for all.

While many governments and corporations have pledged to reach net zero, implementation and comprehensive policy alignment is now urgently needed. As the report spells out, it has never been more possible to take action. The time for ‘saying one thing and doing another,’ in the words of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, is over.

Click here to continue reading the full version of this Expert Comment on the Chatham House website.