UN Science Panel shows importance of climate action now

Climate scientists in the UN panel on climate change (IPCC) are wrapping up their latest meeting, held in Copenhagen over the past week. Their fifth report is fresh on the table, and it is full of predictions about our future.

The head of the ACT Alliance delegation to the meeting, Mattias Söderberg, says:

“Scientists are giving us a preview of a huge bill we will have to pay for the effects of climate change. The cheapest path forwards - for people, companies and governments - is to invest in climate action now. Transforming our countries for a low carbon future will save lives and money”.

“The report highlights that climate change will have an increasing impact on food security, and that there are limits for adaptation to the increasing global temperature. Sea level rise and persistent droughts will force many people to move.” Söderberg says.

“For the families and communities that are going to be hardest hit, the report is a horrific prediction. We can’t adapt our way out of all of this. We will see more disasters and less production of nutritious food, more people will be displaced and more will go hungry”.

“Politicians around the world must act on these predictions and there is no time to waste. We need to do whatever we can to reduce our emissions, help people to adapt, and where this is not possible, help displaced people to settle and move on with their lives somewhere else”.

“The report warns about the risk of violent conflicts, with drivers such as poverty and financial shocks increasing due to climate change”.

“As civil society organisations working on development, we know far to well about the risks of war and armed conflicts. Poor and vulnerable people are normally the hardest hit, as they lack possibilities to avoid, or cope with the threats. With these links between climate change and conflicts becoming clearer, it’s even more important to address global warming”. 

The report stresses that it still is possible to do something. Urgent mitigation action can reduce emissions, and an increased focus on adaptation can help communities and countries with disaster risk preparedness and resilience. However, the report also emphasises that global cooperation and collective action is necessary.

Söderberg adds that “the IPCC report is a direct input to the current UN process, to adopt a global climate change agreement in Paris in December 2015. Governments must adhere to the report, and base their positions and commitments on the recent science. The UN climate talks are in a critical phase, where parties will present their intended contributions to the future agreement. As such the IPCC report is extremely timely. Governments should now reconsider their targets in light of the new findings.”

For more information contact Mattias Söderberg:  msd@dca.dk  +45 29700609