What is the IPCC, and why are its Assessment Reports important? – INSIGHTSIAS

GS Paper 3:

Topics Covered: Conservation related issues.

 

What is the IPCC, and why are its Assessment Reports important?

Context:

The third part of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report was released recently.

• The first part of the report was released in August last year. That one was centred around the scientific basis of climate change.
• The second part of the report is about climate change impacts, risks and vulnerabilities, and adaptation options.
• The third and final part of the report is focused on looking into the possibilities of reducing emissions.

 

What is the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6)?

The Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the sixth in a series of reports intended to assess scientific, technical, and socio-economic information concerning climate change.

• This report evaluates the physical science of climate change – looking at the past, present, and future climate.
• It reveals how human-caused emissions are altering our planet and what that means for our collective future.

The Assessment Reports, the first of which had come out in 1990, are the most comprehensive evaluations of the state of the earth’s climate.

• So far five reports have been released (1990, 1995, 2001, 2007 and 2015).

 

Significance of IPCC Reports:

IPCC reports form the scientific basis on which countries across the world build their policy responses to climate change.

• These reports, on their own, are not policy prescriptive: They do not tell countries or governments what to do. They are only meant to present factual situations with as much scientific evidence as is possible.
• And yet, these can be of immense help in formulating the action plans to deal with climate change.
• These reports also form the basis for international climate change negotiations that decide on the responses at the global level. It is these negotiations that have produced the Paris Agreement, and previously the Kyoto Protocol.

 

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC):

• It is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations responsible for advancing knowledge on human-induced climate change.
• It was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
• Headquarter: Geneva, Switzerland.
• Function: To provide policymakers with regular assessments of the scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation.

 

Highlights of the third part:

1. The report found that over the past decade, emissions have continued to rise. Average annual global greenhouse gas emissions in the decade of 2010-19 were at their highest levels in human history.
2. Limiting global warming to around 1.5degrees Celsius requires global GHG emissions to peak before 2025 at the latest, and be reduced by 43% by 2030.
3. Pledges to Paris Agreement are Insufficient: Current pledges made by countries who have signed the Paris Agreement are known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
4. Abysmal climate finance flows from developed countries have affected energy transition in developing countries.

 

Insta Curious:

Know what previous IPCC reports have said here?

 

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. About IPCC.
2. About NDCs.
3. Paris Agreement.
4. Assessment Reports.
5. UNEP.

Mains Link:

Discuss about the concerns highlighted by IPCC Sixth Assessment Report.

Sources: Indian Express.