Debate: IPCC report on Climate Change: a call for urgent additional action
Date: THURSDAY, 20 APRIL 2023
Speaker: Nicolas Schmit
Language: EN

This report provides the consolidated state of knowledge on the science of climate change and summarises the key findings of this eight—year—long cycle with an ultimate warning. There is still time to ensure a livable future for humans and nature, on the condition of urgent, more ambitious climate action. The IPCC reports are the most comprehensive and authoritative assessments on the science of climate change. Hundreds of scientists have been contributing to the assessment of the available scientific literature. Over this cycle, 10 000 pages of scientific assessment have been provided through six reports covering all aspects of climate science, including the options and solutions for mitigating climate change and adapting to the expected impacts of climate change. The impact of EU—funded research outputs in IPCC reports is remarkable, as EU—funded references account for about 10% of the total references provided, which puts the EU in second position after the United States on this criteria. This shows that EU investment in excellent science through Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe is impactful. The science delivered is clear and unequivocal. The synthesis report, which is the most read for all politicians and policymakers, confirms once again that the world is warming rapidly due to human influence, and this is already causing widespread adverse impacts to people and nature, putting lives and livelihoods at risk, especially for the most vulnerable. The only way to halt global warming and lessen impacts of climate change is by bringing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero. Limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees requires radical action at the global level with unprecedented efforts across countries and economic sectors. Currently, the world is not on track to reach the Paris Agreement temperature targets, and the window of opportunity for that is rapidly closing. Only deep, rapid and sustained reduction in greenhouse gas emissions at global level would lead to a discernible slowdown in global warming in the foreseeable future. This message contained in the summary for policymakers, which I encourage all to read, has been discussed and endorsed by the member governments of the IPCC, including the European Union as an observer organisation. It comes ahead of COP 28 of the UN Climate Convention and the conclusion of the first global stocktake exercise of the climate convention, giving another opportunity to parties to enhance their action. Our ability to avoid the worst impacts depends fundamentally on two major ranges of actions: emissions reductions and adaptation efforts. On the one hand, the report’s findings clearly reinforce the rationale underpinning the EU’s objective to become climate neutral by 2050. With the Fit for 55 proposals of July 2021 and agreement on the climate proposals over recent months, the EU has taken decisive action to achieve its at least 55 net emission reduction target by 2030 and be on track towards climate neutrality in the EU by 2050. The EU needs to push ahead with implementation of this ambitious package to keep showing others around the world that ambitious climate action is possible. On the other hand, the report also confirms that climate change is here to stay and that some of its effects are unavoidable, even under the most ambitious mitigation scenarios. This underscores the importance of adaptation, where the EU is stepping up its efforts under the climate law and the EU adaptation strategy. Even if steep global emissions reductions start now, the world will continue to warm for decades, and we will continue to feel the impacts of past emissions. Mitigation and adaptation action in the world has increased during the last decade, but the action is still too slow, fragmented and unsystematic. We need to do more to shift global investment flows and consumption patterns for a transition towards climate—neutral and sustainable development. Delaying action means scarce resources spent on unsustainable investments that lock us into more pollution and miss important opportunities to modernise our economies, increasing the challenges we face. The less we do now, the more we need to do in the coming decades, a higher cost to all. We must do everything possible to accelerate and enhance mitigation and adaptation with much more political courage. The decisions and actions we take over this decade will have intergenerational impacts over centuries. Many of the impacts are already irreversible. Just one example: global sea level is increasing due to human—induced climate change and will continue to rise under all emission scenarios, putting coastal communities at risk. However, we can and must reduce the rate of this increase to limit future impacts as much as possible. We share common objectives. Science does provide workable and affordable solutions. What we need now is political will and coherent policies that deliver in moving our society forward in a fair and just manner.