The IPCC is currently preparing its Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), which among others, consists of contributions from each of the three IPCC Working Groups and a Synthesis Report (SYR), which integrates the Working Group contributions and the Special Reports produced in the cycle. More information on the sixth assessment cycle is available here.

IPCC – Working Group III focuses on climate change mitigation, assessing methods for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and removing greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere.  Members of DCJ and experts from all over the world share their views on the report of this working group from a climate justice perspective:

Lidy Nacpil, Asian Peoples Movement on Debt and Development: “It is utterly deplorable that governments of the wealthiest and biggest polluter countries claim to be leaders in the fight against climate change and yet are quite shameless in refusing to undertake their fair shares of climate action and blocking demands for equity and justice to be at the center of mitigation actions.”

Meena Raman, Third World Network, said: “Thanks to the efforts of developing countries, attempts by developed countries to undermine references to climate justice, equity and unconditional climate finance as an obligation from developed countries to developing countries to address climate change were thwarted. Without this, the SPM would have been gravely compromised, wiping out climate justice.”

Dipti Bhatnagar, Climate Justice and Energy International Programme Coordinator, of Friends of the Earth International, said: “We do not consent to an overshoot of 1.5 degrees, and there is no justification for pursuing policies or pathways that allow for an overshoot. We used to chant “1.5, we might survive” – 1.5 was already a compromise for frontline communities suffering the worst climate impacts. The IPCC’s WGII climate scientists told us only last month that breaching this guard-rail, even temporarily, could push us over a series of tipping points that would lead to uncontrollable warming. It would be grossly negligent for economists to ignore those warnings and propose inequitable mitigation plans that allow for an overshoot, as is now on the table with this new report.”

Souparna Lahiri, Climate and Biodiversity Policy Advisor, Global Forest Coalition, said: “In the back drop of the findings of the AR6 WGII report pointing out that global warming is likely to reach or exceed 1.5°C and that massive deployment of afforestation, bioenergy, with or without carbon capture and storage, can compound climate-related risk, the IPCC Mitigation report should be bold and decisive in recommending not to rely on false solutions that creates immense pressure on land sector leading to land grab and dispossession and, therefore clearly articulating the impacts on IPLCs and women, their tenurial right and access to land and livelihoods.

IPCC should be instrumental in building up a global consensus (based on science and not political exigencies) on an immediate and rapid phase out of and divestment from fossil fuels, halt to deforestation and biodiversity loss and address their drivers including industrial agriculture and livestock sector and an end to offsets. A global framework for real climate solutions should be community led, based on rights- based gender just approach supported by adequate and timely climate finance.”

Osver Polo Carrasco, Movimiento Ciudadano frente al Cambio Climático – MOCICC: “We hope that the IPCC mitigation Group III report can express as part of the real actions to face climate change the moment of a rapid transition from fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal) to alternative energy, As there are also measures to drastically reduce emissions for air, sea and land transport to limit the temperature of the planet, time is running out, we are in a decisive decade, to make the changes that are needed for the good of our planet ”

Eduardo Giesen, Colectivo VientoSur, Chile: “The report expresses the seriousness of climate change and its impacts, and the urgency of reducing emissions, but does not address the urgency of transforming, together with technologies, the unsustainable patterns of production and consumption in the world, that fundamentally maintain pressure on the global south, its peoples, communities and ecosystems, while the main responsible for the global crisis – the great powers and the multinational corporations – continue to enrich themselves and increase their power.

It is urgent that the IPCC and science listen to the peoples and climate justice movements, claiming for alternatives based on the sovereignty of peoples and territories, and make the work of establishing the difference – in terms of their climatic impacts – between agri-food systems based on peasant agriculture and agro-ecology and those based on export agribusiness and large-scale monocultures; or between energy systems based on mega-renewable energy plants and those based on community-scale micro-grids.

It is necessary for the IPCC to abandon criteria and economic solutions that have no scientific basis, like defining countries’ emission reduction commitments with respect to the emissions curve associated with expected economic growth or promoting carbon offsets and  markets, with priority over a regulatory approach with state support.”

Tzeporah Berman, Chair for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty: “This report is clear that we are now facing a dangerous lock-in of fossil fuel emissions and stranded assets which will further destabilize our economy and society. This is because governments and companies have continued to recklessly expand oil, gas and coal projects. A new global fossil fuel treaty can help countries manage this risk and constraints production in a way that is fast and fair at the scale required  to tackle this global crisis. You can’t put out a fire with gas and our planet is quite literally on fire.”

Susann Scherbarth, Head of Climate Justice in BUND/ Friends of the Earth Germany said: “The hunger for energy is rising and rising and rising and with that the temperatures on our planet. We have to stop that now – it will be hard, we all know that. A climate- and a socially just 1.5-degree path can reduce climate impacts and geo-political conflicts. The Global North – Germany including – must systematically end a wasteful use of energy and resources in a socially just manner in all sectors. Germany with its G7 presidency now has the opportunity and duty of ensuring a global energy system that is clean, affordable, renewable and socially just.”

Linda Schneider, Senior Programme Officer International Climate Policy at Heinrich Boell Foundation in Berlin, Germany: “The IPCC mitigation report contains much of what is needed to get on track for 1.5°C: Fossil fuel phase-out, wind and solar, widespread electrification, and lowering energy and resource demand, in particular in the Global North, transformations in food systems and diets, protection and restoration of natural ecosystems in line with rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples. But the IPCC falls short of highlighting the right conclusions from its own findings. The previous two Working Group reports highlighted the severe risks and irreversible damage associated with overshooting the 1.5°C limit and also pointed out the risks and dangers of relying on speculative carbon removal and other geo-engineering technologies. But in the SPM of the new report, the central climate mitigation strategy — phasing out all fossil fuels, starting immediately — is often diluted by references to techno-fixes that are meant to keep the fossil fuel industry alive. Overly vague language on ‘net zero’ emissions thereby obfuscates the most urgent policy responses. One thing is clear: geo-engineering technologies will not be able to reverse climate breakdown.” 

Kjell Kühne, Director Leave it in the Ground Initiative (LINGO), said: “This report makes it very clear that the 2020s are a key phase in the fossil endgame. We have to start looking at tools and mechanisms to end fossil fuel burning not within a century, but within a decade, especially in the Global North. It’s not a task to be left to our children. It’s us adults now who have to accomplish the full transition before our children even grow up.”

Michael E Mann, Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science at Penn State University: “This latest report drives home both the urgency and agency in addressing the climate crisis. While we are already experiencing dangerous climate change impacts, this report shows that we can still avert the worst consequences if we rapidly accelerate the transition from fossil fuels toward clean energy and climate-friendly practices. A Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty can be an anchor for driving forward that transition globally.”

As this new IPCC report on impacts, adaptation and vulnerability is released, we as civil society also express our views on the results through the voices of the members of the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice. 

Hemantha Withanage, Chair of Friends of the Earth International, based in Sri Lanka, said: 

“Climate impacts are already happening everywhere, faster, and with worse consequences than ever predicted. We are already witnessing extreme weather events that scientists didn’t expect to see until 2100. After COP26’s false front of flashy announcements, this report is a stark reminder of the reality: Climate chaos is at the gate. System change must happen now. Real emissions reductions, real solutions, must happen now.”

Amos Nkpeebo, Friends of the Earth Ghana, added: 

“The IPCC report confirms that some damage is beyond repair and it will be impossible for many communities to adapt, especially if the 1.5-degree threshold is breached. We’re facing the potential for hundreds of millions of people displaced from their homes within this century, and swathes of farmland turning to dust. We urgently demand for finance for adaptation and for loss and damage, to help vulnerable populations.” 

Alex Rafalowicz, Director of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, said: “This latest report shows that continued warming will sentence us to a world that we cannot adapt to. Even though we know that extracting everything from existing coal, oil and gas projects alone would push us past the threshold for a livable planet, new projects are still being approved and expanded. The fossil fuel industry will not design its own demise so governments must break this dependence on fossil fuels to protect livelihoods, security and planet. The future projections of the IPCC can be avoided if we act but action means addressing the fossil fuel system in its entirety.”

Susann Scherbarth, Head of Climate Justice in BUND/ Friends of the Earth Germany said:
“Anyone who does not acknowledge the massive scale of climate change impacts is burying their heads in the sand. However, it’s not the time to go into shock. The climate crisis is man-made and must also be tackled by us for everyone – in raising our sleeves and getting down to work.
While the German government is showing more progressive climate plans than ever before, words must be followed by strong deeds and adapted to a 1.5 degree pathway. With the G7 presidency this year, Germany has the duty to ensure climate justice internationally. They must seriously anchor solutions that lead to real emission reductions. The German government must ensure that all G7 countries unconditionally support the end of the fossil fuel era – including nuclear and gas – and commit to socially just climate finance.“

From LIDY NACPIL, Asian Peoples Movement on Debt and Development: 

“The latest IPCC Report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability speaks of at least 4.33 billion people, mostly from the Global South, who will become even more highly vulnerable to climate change. It is a grim reminder of the urgency of climate action and system change. 

And yet governments, especially from the Global North, are failing to meet their fair shares of actions and  attempting to cover their lack of ambition by lofty declarations of “Net Zero”.  With Net Zero, they want us to believe that unproven and even dangerous carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies will remove the GHGs they intend to continue to emit. With Net Zero they are peddling carbon trading, offsets and other similar market mechanisms to shift the burden of emissions reductions elsewhere. 

We demand real zero targets, and immediate and near term equitable and ambitious climate actions. What the world will do in the current decade will determine if the goal of keeping temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees will remain within reach.”

Teresa Anderson, Climate Justice Lead for ActionAid International said:

“This report presents a harrowing catalogue of the immense suffering that climate change means for billions of people, now and for the decades to come. It’s the most hard-hitting compilation of climate science the world has ever seen. You can’t read it without feeling sick to your stomach. 

“A global system that provides support to climate-vulnerable countries to pick up the pieces and rebuild in the aftermath of climate disasters is long overdue. The COP27 climate negotiations in Egypt later this year must finally agree to a funding facility to address loss and damage. 

“We know that behind the scenes, the US made attempts to delete references to ‘loss and damage’ from the IPCC text. The Biden administration is not only shutting their eyes to the reality of the climate crisis – they’re trying to blindfold the rest of the world too. They appear to wear a badge of climate leadership, while doing all they can to block those most in need from getting help. It’s dishonest and utterly shameful.”

VIctor Menotti, Senior Fellow, Oakland Institute

IPCC’s new WGII report is yet another code red warning for elected officials and energy ministers — especially in top fossil fuel consuming countries — who now witness not only the violent military aggression financed by fossil fuels production but also the mounting damage to peoples’ livelihoods and our earth’s ecosystems from their ever-increasing consumption.  As G20 countries intensify their dialogue between producing and consuming countries at the International Energy Forum (IEF) to secure energy supplies, governments must stop ignoring the obvious option of decreasing demand for fossil fuels rather than only planning and pushing to further expand their production.  Even exhausting today’s existing oil and gas wells will put us way past prudent levels of GHG in our atmosphere, so urgent international cooperation is needed now to stabilize prices so all countries can equitably transition away from fossil fuels. 

OPINIONES DE LA SOCIEDAD CIVIL EN RELACIÓN AL INFORME DEL IPCC SOBRE IMPACTOS, ADAPTACIÓN Y VULNERABILIDAD

Ante la publicación de este nuevo informe del IPCC sobre impactos, adaptación y vulnerabilidad, nosotros, como sociedad civil, también expresamos nuestros puntos de vista sobre los resultados a través de las voces de los miembros de la Campaña Global para Exigir Justicia Climática.

Hemantha Withanage, Presidente de Amigos de la Tierra Internacional, de Sri Lanka, afirmó: 

“Los impactos climáticos ya están ocurriendo en todas partes, más rápidamente, y con peores consecuencias que las previstas anteriormente. Ya estamos viviendo fenómenos meteorológicos extremos que la comunidad científica no esperaba observar antes del año 2100. Tras los vistosos anuncios falsos de la COP26, este informe es un duro golpe de realidad: El caos climático está en puerta. Tenemos que cambiar de sistema AHORA. Se requieren reducciones reales de emisiones, soluciones verdaderas ahora mismo”.

Amos Nkpeebo, de Amigos de la Tierra Ghana, agregó: 

“Este nuevo informe del IPCC confirma que hay daños que ya son irreparables y que a muchas comunidades les será imposible adaptarse, especialmente si se traspasa el umbral de 1,5 grados Celsius. Enfrentamos la posibilidad de que cientos de millones de personas sean desplazadas de sus hogares en este siglo, y que enormes extensiones de tierras cultivables queden convertidas en polvo. Exigimos urgentemente financiamiento para adaptación y para pérdidas y daños, a fin de ayudar a las poblaciones vulnerables”.

Alex Rafalowicz, director de la Iniciativa del Tratado de No Proliferación de Combustibles Fósiles, dijo: 

“Este último informe muestra que el calentamiento continuo nos condenará a un mundo al que no podemos adaptarnos. Aunque sabemos que extraer todo del carbón, petróleo y gas existentes nos empujarían mas allá del umbral de un planeta habitable, aún se están aprobando y expandiendo nuevos proyectos. La industria de los combustibles fósiles no diseñará su propia desaparición, por lo que los gobiernos deben romper esta dependencia de los combustibles fósiles para proteger los medios de vida, la seguridad y el planeta. Las proyecciones futuras del IPCC se pueden evitar si actuamos, pero la acción significa abordar el sistema de combustibles fósiles en su totalidad”.

Susann Scherbarth, Jefa de Justicia Climática en BUND/Amigos de la Tierra Alemania, dijo: 

“Cualquiera que no reconozca la escala masiva de los impactos del cambio climático está enterrando la cabeza en la arena. Sin embargo, no es el momento de entrar en shock. La crisis climática es provocada por el hombre y también debe ser abordada por todxs nosotrxs, poniéndonos manos a la obra. Si bien el gobierno alemán muestra planes climáticos más progresistas que nunca, las palabras deben ir seguidas de hechos sólidos y adaptarse a un camino de 1,5 grados. Con la presidencia del G7 este año, Alemania tiene el deber de garantizar la justicia climática a nivel internacional. Deben anclar seriamente soluciones que conduzcan a reducciones reales de emisiones. El gobierno alemán debe asegurarse de que todos los países del G7 apoyen incondicionalmente el fin de la era de los combustibles fósiles, incluidos el gas y la energía nuclear, y se comprometan con una financiación climática socialmente justa”.

De LIDY NACPIL, Movimiento de los Pueblos Asiáticos sobre Deuda y Desarrollo:

“El último Informe del IPCC sobre Impactos, Adaptación y Vulnerabilidad habla de al menos 4330 millones de personas, en su mayoría del Sur Global, que serán aún más vulnerables al cambio climático. Es un sombrío recordatorio de la urgencia de la acción climática y el cambio de sistema.

Y, sin embargo, los gobiernos, especialmente del Norte Global, no cumplen con su parte justa de acciones e intentan cubrir su falta de ambición con declaraciones elevadas de “Cero Neto”. Con Net Zero, quieren que creamos que las tecnologías de captura y almacenamiento de carbono (CCS) no probadas e incluso peligrosas eliminarán los GEI que pretenden seguir emitiendo. Con Net Zero están vendiendo comercio de carbono, compensaciones y otros mecanismos de mercado similares para trasladar la carga de las reducciones de emisiones a otros lugares.

Exigimos objetivos cero reales y acciones climáticas ambiciosas, equitativas e inmediatas y a corto plazo. Lo que haga el mundo en la década actual determinará si el objetivo de mantener el aumento de la temperatura por debajo de 1,5 grados seguirá estando al alcance”.

Teresa Anderson, Líder de Justicia Climática de ActionAid International, dijo:

“Este informe presenta un catálogo desgarrador del inmenso sufrimiento que el cambio climático significa para miles de millones de personas, ahora y en las próximas décadas. Es la compilación más contundente de la ciencia del clima que el mundo haya visto jamás. No puedes leerlo sin sentirte mal del estómago.

“Hace mucho tiempo que se necesitaba un sistema global que brinde apoyo a los países vulnerables al clima para recoger los pedazos y reconstruir después de los desastres climáticos. Las negociaciones climáticas de la COP27 en Egipto a finales de este año deben finalmente acordar un mecanismo de financiación para abordar las pérdidas y los daños.

“Sabemos que entre bastidores, EE. UU. intentó eliminar las referencias a ‘pérdidas y daños’ del texto del IPCC. La administración de Biden no solo está cerrando los ojos ante la realidad de la crisis climática, sino que también está tratando de vendar los ojos al resto del mundo. Parecen llevar una insignia de liderazgo climático, mientras hacen todo lo posible para bloquear a los más necesitados.

Victor Menotti, investigador senior, Instituto de Oakland

El nuevo informe del GTII del IPCC es otra advertencia de código rojo para los funcionarios electos y los ministros de energía, especialmente en los principales países consumidores de combustibles fósiles, que ahora son testigos no solo de la violenta agresión militar financiada por la producción de combustibles fósiles, sino también del daño creciente a los medios de vida de las personas y a nuestros los ecosistemas de la tierra de su consumo cada vez mayor. A medida que los países del G20 intensifican su diálogo entre países productores y consumidores en el Foro Internacional de Energía (IEF) para asegurar el suministro de energía, los gobiernos deben dejar de ignorar la opción obvia de disminuir la demanda de combustibles fósiles en lugar de solo planificar y presionar para expandir aún más su producción. Incluso agotar los pozos de petróleo y gas existentes en la actualidad nos permitirá superar los niveles prudentes de GEI en nuestra atmósfera, por lo que ahora se necesita una cooperación internacional urgente para estabilizar los precios para que todos los países puedan hacer una transición equitativa para dejar los combustibles fósiles.

JUSTICIA CLIMÁTICA!