IPCC report: urgent need to ramp up climate action

“These measures need to be transformative and equitable to ensure the most effective societal response, including not only technological advances and broader deployment of best practices, but also behavioural changes and institutional reforms,” said Francis X. Johnson, SEI Senior Research Fellow and member of the extended writing team.

The IPCC states that there are “multiple, feasible and effective options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to human-caused climate change”, available now. The report brings into focus the impacts the world is already experiencing and how these are hitting the most vulnerable people and ecosystems, now and in the future. Accelerated action to both mitigate and adapt to climate change is therefore critical in the coming years. Emissions of greenhouse gases should be decreasing by now and will need to be cut by almost half by 2030, according to the IPCC report. “Climate resilient development” offers an integrated framing for climate action – coordinating measures to adapt to climate change with actions to reduce or avoid emissions.

“Climate resilient development also aims to promote equity and climate justice by strengthening institutions and governance and ensuring the necessary financing, technology, innovation and capacity development. International cooperation, technology transfer, and transnational learning are also needed to support the scaling up and replication of best practices and efficient technologies, which are particularly important in developing countries that bear the least responsibility for climate change but face some of the most serious consequences,” said Francis X. Johnson.

SEI researchers

SEI researchers have contributed to several of the IPCC reports during the sixth assessment cycle. The following researchers are available for comment on their respective fields. Click on the links for contact details and more information about their research.