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IPCC report: key findings

Reducing CO2 emissions is the key to climate change mitigation – this is one of the most important findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Its latest publication includes the summary for policymakers, Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. The entire report was published in August this year and is considered the largest update of knowledge in this field since 2014.

5 min read

Author:

Ksenia Pisera

Journalist, popularizer of knowledge about environmental and climate protection

The latest IPCC report is a sobering message, one that basically states this is our last chance to act before it is too late. Fortunately for us, we do have this chance.

The IPCC panel was created by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme. Its goal is to provide objective, scientific knowledge about climate change. Its best-known activities are its periodic reports, known as Assessment Reports. These documents consist of three parts, each of which contains the conclusions of the working groups. The first deals with the Physical Science Basis, the second with Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. The third is on Mitigation of Climate Change.

The recently published summary is based on 14,000 scientific publications. 751 scientists from dozens of countries and representatives of 195 governments worked on it. In the key findings related to the state of the climate, scientists emphasize that it is human activity that has caused the global average temperature to rise by about 1˚C compared to pre-industrial times. They also found that climate change is becoming more evident around the world, with extreme weather events occurring with increasing frequency. The climate’s future scenarios that scientists are drafting based on the studies assume an increase in Earth’s temperatures of 1.5˚C. In some of them, the rise is even more than 2˚C.

According to calculations included in the IPCC publication, keeping the global temperature rise below 1.5° C requires substantial reducing of CO2 emissions. By 2030, we should cut our greenhouse gas emissions in half, and by 2050 they should equal zero. The full summary of the latest IPCC publication is available here.

– The latest IPCC report is a sobering message, one that basically states this is our last chance to act before it is too late. Fortunately for us, we do have this chance – and it appears that for the first time since climate change became a well-known topic, people are finally starting to act. Individuals are more conscious of their actions, and businesses are starting to see the value in lowering emissions. It’s too early to tell if we will be able to reach the necessary emissions reductions, but there is definitely more hope than there was even five years ago – says Jordan Flagel, TerGo’s chief environmental officer.

How do you reduce your CO2 emissions?

Importantly, the challenge of reducing CO2 emissions is not just for large corporations and businesses. A low carbon footprint can, and should be achieved by all of us. This is good news, because it means that each of us has a real impact on environmental and climate protection. All our ecological choices count –from the type of milk bought for breakfast, through the choice of the means of transport, to the ways of spending free time. That is why it is worth measuring our daily carbon footprint: being aware of our emissions is the first step towards change.

Together, we can do even more for the climate. Join the TerGo community and see for yourself.