The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is nearing the end of its Sixth Assessment Cycle, during which its three Working Groups produce reports summarising the evidence base underpinning climate change.
The Climate Governance Initiative’s summaries for the three Working Group reports are listed below:
1. Working Group I’s report focused on the physical science of climate change
The report shows that human activity is unequivocally driving changes to the climate at an unprecedented scale. The science indicates there is still time to limit temperature rises, but only if we act now, and with ambition.
IPCC August 2021: The Physical Science Basis
2. Working Group II’s report outlined how climate change will impact society and the environment, and how the world can adapt to these impacts.
The report concludes that the impacts of climate change are severe, but that humanity can still avoid many of them if it seizes “a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity”.
IPCC February 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
3. Working Group III’s report focuses on mitigating climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions – the central part of any organisation’s climate policy.
The report explains that limiting warming to 1.5C will require global emissions to peak before 2025 and that many pathways to 2C of warming will also require this, but will not happen under current policies. The world needs to take drastic action to maintain a stable, liveable climate.
IPCC April 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change
A synthesis report is due to be released in September 2022 based on content from the three working group reports and the three special reports: Global Warming of 1.5°C, Climate Change and Land, The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate.
These summaries have been created by the Centre for Climate Engagement
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