IPCC releases its latest report: “Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability”

On 28 February 2022, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its latest report, “Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability”, after being approved and accepted by 195 member countries in a virtual approval session, held between 14 and 27 February.

This report is the Working Group II (WGII) contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) and assesses the impacts of climate change, looking at ecosystems, biodiversity, and human communities at global and regional levels. It also reviews vulnerabilities and the capacities and limits of the natural world and human societies to adapt to climate change.

Compared with previous WGII reports, this report introduces several new components: One is a special section on climate change impacts, risks and options to act for cities and settlements by the sea, tropical forests, mountains, biodiversity hotspots, dryland and deserts, the Mediterranean as well as the polar regions. Another is an atlas that will present data and findings on observed and projected climate change impacts and risks from global to regional scales, thus offering even more insights for decision makers.

The key messages from the report include:

• Urgent action is required to deal with increasing climate risks;
• Safeguarding and strengthening nature is key to securing a livable future;
• Cities are hotspots of impacts and risks, but also a crucial part of the solution;
• The window for action is narrowing.

The conclusions are very clear: “The cumulative scientific evidence is unequivocal: Climate change is a threat to human well-being and planetary health. Any further delay in concerted anticipatory global action on adaptation and mitigation will miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all”.

About the IPCC

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the UN body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide political leaders with periodic scientific assessments concerning climate change, its implications, and risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation strategies. In the same year the UN General Assembly endorsed the action by the WMO and UNEP in jointly establishing the IPCC. It has 195 member states.

Useful links
IPCC report “Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability”
IPCC press release – English
IPCC report video trailer