<strong>Explained: What is IPCC and why are its Assessment Reports significant?</strong>
In the first week of April this year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released its latest Assessment Report. It highlighted that governments and corporations all around the world thrive on broken climate promises. In fact, the report contains UN Secretary General’s warning: “It is a file of shame, cataloguing the empty pledges that put us firmly on track towards an unliveable world.” In this context, let us understand in closer details what IPCC is and how its Assessment Reports are significant to tackle the global climate crisis.
What is IPCC?
IPCC was established in 1988 by joint efforts of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). This body is responsible for assessing the science concerning climate change and preparing Assessment Reports, special reports and methodology reports accordingly. However, the IPCC doesn’t conduct the research itself but takes help from scientists around the world who assess all pertinent scientific information and data from around the globe and put forward logical conclusions.
Significance of IPCC’s Assessment Reports
IPCC releases its Assessment Reports (ARs) once every few years and they are considered as the most comprehensive as well as widely accepted climate reports in the world. These reports contain scientific evaluations of our planet’s climate and help governments formulate relevant policies to tackle the climate crisis. They also provide a foundation for all international negotiations on climate change such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change that formed the basis of 1992 Rio Summit, Kyoto Protocol of 1997 and Paris Agreement of 2015. In fact, the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) had won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.
So far, five Assessment Reports have been published since 1990, and the sixth report (AR6) that was due, was released on 4th April. Its first two parts had already been released in August 2021 and February 2022 respectively.
What was the recent IPCC Assessment Report all about?
This recent report comes with warnings, starting with intense and more frequent heat-waves, to enhanced rate of heavy rainfall, dangerous rise in the sea level, prolonged period of droughts, and melting glaciers. It also warned that multiple disasters induced by the climate change will occur in the next 20 years, despite necessary actions taken. Additionally, the report states that an average rise in temperature by at least 1.5 degree Celsius was evident even if greenhouse gas emissions were controlled.