Comments on IPCC Sixth Assessment Synthesis Report

Please see below comments on the upcoming IPCC Sixth Assessment Synthesis Report, which is expected to be published on Monday 20 March.

A recording of a media briefing that took place today is available here. Also attached is a background briefing on the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report.

Julia King, Baroness Brown of Cambridge, Chair, Climate Change Committee adaptation sub-committee, and Chair of Carbon Trust:

“Nearly half the world’s population now live in places vulnerable to climate impacts; floods, fires, drought, extremes of heat and cold are affecting us all, everywhere. We need to adapt here at home, to protect our transport, coastline, homes and agriculture. But we need to help poorer nations to adapt as well. The IPCC spells out the need for financial support from the richest to the poorest. And with a fifth of the economic value of this country’s critical supply chains in areas at medium to very high increased risk from climate hazards, it’s increasingly in our national interest to be providing that support.”

Professor Emily Shuckburgh, Director of Cambridge Zero at the University of Cambridge:

“The science is clearer than ever, and once more the world’s scientists remind us how little time we have left to limit warming to 1.5°C. Even now, at 1.1°C, climate impacts are deadly. Last year’s floods in Pakistan engulfed a third of the country, killing 1,500 people, devastating crops and livestock, and cost $30 billion. Pakistan is the second biggest supplier of the UK’s rice; impacts of devastation in one part of the world don’t stop there, they come right to our doorsteps. They threaten food supplies, force people from their homes, fuel conflict, and destabilise governments. In short, the climate crisis threatens our national security. As the economic benefits from tackling it far outweigh the falling costs of climate solutions, the key to protecting our national security is firmly in our grasp.”

Anne Christianson, Director of International Climate Policy, Center for American Progress:

“The IPCC reports leave us no doubt of the threat posed by the climate crisis - and that we have only a handful of years to meet the global 1.5°C warming target. However, what we also now have is the knowledge, technology, and tools to meet this challenge. The $369 billion in investments that the Biden administration made in the Inflation Reduction Act is driving a race to the top, spurring greater innovation, and spending on clean energy and resilience from other global economic powers. As we see the EU proposing new measures to rival the scale of U.S. investments and fuel the clean tech boom at the pace we need this decade, we also must demand the political change that makes these investments durable and catalyses a permanent clean energy transition.”

Adam Berman, Deputy Director of Policy at Energy UK:

“UK business have led the world in the deployment of clean energy tech, such as offshore wind. Yet we risk losing our competitive advantage due to rising costs and increased international competition. With the world’s biggest economies competing over which can offer more subsidies for clean tech, British businesses have been warning that they risk being squeezed between the US and the EU. This week’s budget shows that the Government has much further to go to ensure that the UK remains investable for low carbon technologies that will provide jobs, skills, and growth to parts of the country that need it most. Without rapid action to address these investment challenges, the UK will be squandering its hard-earned position of leadership on climate action and call into question our ability to reach net zero.”

Richard Black, Senior Associate at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU):

“The most significant statement in the entire Sixth Assessment Report, which may well be repeated in the Synthesis, is that climate change threatens human wellbeing and planetary health and that there is ‘a rapidly-closing window of opportunity’ to secure a liveable future for all. Why is that so important? Because this is the agreed view of all the world’s governments; they make up the IPCC, they sign off its reports, and by endorsing this statement they have agreed that it is an accurate representation of reality. The tumbling costs of clean energy and Vladimir Putin’s fossil-fuelled war now provide additional reasons for governments to pour through this window and prevent its terminal closure during this pivotal decade for decarbonisation.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. IPPC Sixth Assessment Report: https://www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar6/
2. Full recording of background media briefing: https://www.dropbox.com/s/na7s73nq9rcv5gj/ECIU%20IPCC%20AR6%20synthesis%20report%20briefing.mp4?dl=0
   

For more information or interview requests:

George Smeeton, Head of Communications, ECIU, Tel: 07894 571 153, email: george.smeeton@eciu.net