Climate Conferences

• COP28: What did it accomplish and what’s next? | World Economic Forum | Dec 14 2023 | Analysis of all the key COP 28 outcomes in Dubai.

• COP28: Key outcomes agreed at the UN climate talks in Dubai | Carbon Brief | Dec 13, 2023 |  In-depth analysis of all the key outcomes in Dubai – both inside and outside the COP.

• Climate Action Tracker | Climate Action Tracker Newsletter | Dec 19, 2023 |  The newsletter takes a look at what happened at COP28 - and sets out some goals for 2024. 

• No Change to Warming as Fossil Fuel Endgame Brings Focus onto False Solutions | Climate Action Tracker website | Dec 19, 2023 |  Despite government promises, warming projections have not improved since Glasgow two years ago (2021), amid worsening climate impacts. Read why.

• ‘A biodiversity catastrophe’: how the world could look in 2050 – unless we act now | The Guardian | Nov 29, 2023 |  The climate crisis, invasive species, overexploitation of resources and pollution could break down crucial ecosystems. The article asked experts to lay out the risks and offer some solutions

The scientific body that advises the UN on rising temperatures - The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - summarizes its six key pieces of research completed over the past five years.  Briefly the report states that the world will soon burn through its “carbon budget” and may surpass the key threshold of 1.5C of warming by 2030. Scientists say the severity of climate events - droughts, floods, deadly storms - increases dangerously after 1.5C of warming. And the world could warm by 3.2C this century unless nations lift their game. That level of warming would leave much of the planet inhospitable to plant, animal, and human life.

In a nutshell, the report state:

• The world is on track to surpass a significant level of warming. (Oh Oh!)

The world is likely to hit what scientists consider relatively safe levels of warming — 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial temperatures — by the early 2030s, the report warned. Countries could still take steps to prevent that, by slashing greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and no longer adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by the 2050s. But the required measures are so extreme that they seem increasingly unlikely, many experts say.

• On the current track, brace for more disasters. (Oh Oh!)

Continued warming will mean more catastrophic flooding, deadly heat waves, crop-destroying droughts and other extreme weather. Some of those effects are already visible. Last year, record-breaking heat waves hit much of the world, including the U.S. and Europe, and floods submerged a third of Pakistan.

• The world has made some real progress. (Yeah!)

In the past, climate reports warned that warming could surpass four degrees Celsius (7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100. Today, the Earth is on a trajectory of around two to three degrees Celsius (3.6 to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit), thanks to the uptake of cleaner energy and to projections that coal use will decline. That difference of a few degrees can, like a fever, prevent more catastrophic events. And pivoting away from fossil fuels is the fastest way to stop global warming.

• The Bottom Line

Despite some progress, the world is still on track to face devastating outcomes from climate change. To prevent the worst, scientists are calling for a massive effort that will require the world’s most powerful and richest countries to work together.

**Source: The New York Times Mar 21 2023

The Full Report and other Articles

• IPCC Final Climate Change Report | IPCC | Mar 13-19 2023 | The IPCC finalized the Synthesis Report for the Sixth Assessment Report during the Panel's 58th Session held in Interlaken, Switzerland.

• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - All Climate Reports | IPCC | Explore all IPCC Cliamte reports

• This Visual Shows How Climate Change Will Affect Generations | Washington Post | Mar 21, 2023 | Read the article and view the visual that shows the consequences of the choices and actions taken now in reducing [greenhouse gas] emissions for generations now and in the future, for our children.

• Five Things We've Learned from UN Climate Report | Mar 21, 2023 | Summary of the IPCC Final Climate Change Report.

• Podcast: Recapping the U.N. Climate Talks | Just Security | Dec 3, 2022 | Mark Nevitt, a professor at Emory Law School and an expert on climate change and national security. speaks about the big trends of COP 27 and the major takeaways for what happens next.

• Decisions taken at the Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Change Conference | United Nations Climate Change  | Nov 2022 | Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Change Conference - official UN website

• COP 27 Official Website | Nov 2022

• “Humanity Has a Choice”: A Roundup of Some of the Best Speeches at COP27 | Sierra - Magazine of the Sierra Club | Nov 13, 2022 | Global leaders urge cooperation to avert the worst impacts of climate change

• Whose Job is it to Halt the Climate Crisis? | The Guardian | Nov 2022 | In this ward-winning video, Guardian environment editor Fiona Harvey reflects on 30 years of Cops and meets the politicians, activists and scientists asking who is responsible for saving the planet.

• What Was, and What Wasn't Accomplished at COP27 | Investopedia | Nov 23, 2022 | In this episode, COP27 wrapped up in Egypt last weekend, with a historic agreement to create a new fund to compensate poor nations for the so-called loss and damage they are experiencing as a result of extreme weather worsened by climate change. Investopedia gets into the details and speaks with Alice Hill of the Council on Foreign Relations, who attended the gathering about what was and what wasn't accomplished.

• What Got Decided at COP26? Here Are 5 Takeaways From Climate Scientists | Ideas.TED.com | Nov 16, 2021

• The Ultimate Guide to Why the COP26 Summit Ended in Failure and Disappointment (despite a few bright spots) | The Conversation | Nov 14, 2021

• COP26 Climate Conference Official Website

• Watch the 2021 TED Countdown Global Livestream | Take Action on Climate Change | TED | Oct 30, 2021 | YouTube Originals presents the TED Countdown Global Livestream, an empowering event laying out a credible and realistic pathway to a net-zero future. Watch now and take action on climate change. 

• What is Cop26 and Why Does it Matter? The Complete Guide | Guardian | Oct 11, 2021 | Everything you need to know about the Glasgow conference seeking to forge a global response to the climate emergency

• What Is A COP?

• A Quick Explainer for COP26 — Here’s How Climate Negotiations Work and What’s at Stake | Ideas.Ted.com | Oct 28, 2021

• COP 26 Coalition Website | Join the Climate Justice Movement at COP26

• COP26: 'Not Fear, But Hope' - Attenborough Speech in Full | BBC News | Nov 1, 2021 | Sir David Attenborough has told delegates at COP26 that they are powerful enough to save the planet, if they work together.

• Greta Thunberg and Youth Activists Petition UN To Declare a Global Climate Emergency | My Modern Met | Nov 11, 2021

• A New Perspective on the Journey to Net Zero   Oct 2021 | Climate action can be a vehicle to deliver dignity, opportunity and equality for all. UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed invites us to reimagine what the journey to net-zero could look like if we invest in people's climate efforts while prioritizing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals -- a blueprint of interlinked global goals to protect humanity and our warming planet. "It's time to make some serious noise to transform our world," she says.

• The Children Will Rise Up! | Oct 8, 2021 | A song sung by children to help raise awareness for climate change! 

• Capitalism Is Killing the Planet – It’s Time to Stop Buying into Our Own Destruction | Guardian | Oct 30, 2021

• Four Charts That Explain Why the Stakes are so High at the U.N. Climate Summit | NPR | Oct 29, 2021

• COP26: Obama Tells Young People to Stay Angry on Climate Fight | BBC | Nov 9, 2021 | Barack Obama has called on young people to "stay angry" in the fight against climate change at the COP26 summit.

• Climate Change: COP26 Conference Hailed as 'World's best Last Chance.' Here's Why | CNET | Oct. 4, 2021 | November's UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, is being hailed as "the world's best last chance" to get the climate emergency under control. To ensure temperature change remains "well below" the 2 degrees Celsius agreed to by UN signatories in the Paris Agreement in 2015, countries need to act fast and double down on commitments to reach net zero emissions.

• All4Climate – Italy 2021 website |The site encompasses the full lineup of climate events taking place in Italy this year. Its goal is simple: to make 2021 a landmark year for climate ambition.

• Climate crisis is 'single biggest health threat facing humanity,' WHO says, calling on world leaders to act | CNN | Oct 11, 2021 | The World Health Organization, in a new special report, is calling for governments and policymakers to "act with urgency" on the climate and health crises. The report describes climate change as the "single biggest health threat facing humanity," and outlines 10 recommended climate and health actions along with the research in support of why each action is beneficial.

• Sustainable Living: 40 Eco-friendly Tips from the Best Experts in the Business | Marie Claire | Oct 29, 2021

• COP25 climate talks in Madrid: What was accomplished? | DW News | Dec 15, 2019

• Madrid climate talks end in near failure as crucial decisions are bumped into 2020 | The Globe and Mail | December 15, 2019 | By: Eric Reguly, European Bureau Chief

• Various speakers at COP 25 including Greta Thunberg | Dec 11, 2019

• Critical Juncture in Efforts to Limit Global Warming - UN Chief at UN Climate Change Conference | Dec 2, 2019

• Related: China Goes All-In On Coal While Telling The Rest Of The World To Reduce Emissions |Forbes | Dec 16, 2019

What the IPCC Report on Climate Change: The Physical Science Basis Means for the World's Climate Ambition

What Does This Report Tell Us?

This report shows that climate change impacts are rapidly getting more severe worldwide. Extreme weather-related events like heat waves, droughts, flooding and wildfires are already harming people, ecosystems, community safety, food security, infrastructure and the economy and it’s worsening.

Communities around the world are ill-prepared for the level of climate disruption that is already upon us. Adaptation plans are inadequately funded which is leaving our most vulnerable communities at risk.

Vulnerability to the impacts of climate change varies widely around the world and in different segments of society. Those suffering the worst impacts have contributed least to the crisis.

The Report

The thirteen chapters of the Working Group I report provide an assessment of the current evidence on the physical science of climate change, knowledge evaluation gained from observations, reanalyses, paleoclimate archives and climate model simulations, as well as physical, chemical and biological climate processes. (1300 pages?)

• Report Website

• Full Report

• Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis - Summary for Policymakers

• The novel AR6 Working Group I Interactive Atlas allows for a flexible spatial and temporal analysis of both data-driven climate change information and assessment findings in the report. It includes two components:

• The Regional Information component provides access to climate change information (variables and derived indices) from the main datasets used in the report.

• The Regional Synthesis component allows the exploration of key synthesized assessments building on multiple lines of evidence across the Working Group I reference regions. This component supports the SPM and is being updated to align with the final approval version (to be presented in late September).

• Link to the Interactive Atlas

Other Articles

• Final warning: what does the IPCC’s third report instalment say? | C|NET | April 4, 2022 |Explainer: Key points from the final section of the IPCC’s latest review of climate science.

• IPCC report: Earth already feeling irreversible impacts of climate change | C|NET | August 10, 2022 | Landmark report by UN climate panel is a 'reality check' and grim warning but there's still time to take action to combat the climate crisis.

• IPCC report: Half the world is facing water scarcity, floods and dirty water — large investments are needed for effective solutions | UBC| February 28, 2022| Climate change exacerbates global water insecurity because it contributes to more frequent and severe droughts, floods and extreme rainfall, accelerated glacier melt, rapid declines in groundwater and the deterioration of water quality.

• A Sicker, Poorer, and Less Abundant World | The Atlantic| March 1, 2022| Here are three big takeaways from the new UN-led report, which warns that global warming “is a threat to human well-being and planetary health.”

• We Are Changing Climate Faster Than We Can Adapt, New IPCC Report Warns | Smithsonian Magazine| March 2, 2022| Despite the ‘irreversible’ impacts of a warming planet, scientists emphasize there is still time to act.

• Here’s What The New Climate Report Says About The Future Of My 1-Year-Old Daughter | Buzz Feed News | March 5, 2022 | Not halting global warming, said one expert, “would be the final, truly unfair thing to do to a generation of kids coming up right now.”

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, eight years in the making, released 9 August 2021, has found that human activity is “unequivocally” the cause of rapid changes to the climate, including sea level rises, melting polar ice and glaciers, heatwaves, floods and droughts. Learn about the the current climate situation and projections for the future.

• Table of Contents

• 6th Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Full Report

• Regional Fact Sheets

• Interactive Atlas

Some Articles That Explain the IPCC

• Major climate changes inevitable and irreversible – IPCC’s starkest warning yet | The Guardian | 9 Aug 2021|

• IPCC climate report: Profound changes are underway in Earth’s oceans and ice | The Conversation | | 9 Aug 2021|

• IPCC report: global emissions must peak by 2025 to keep warming at 1.5°C – we need deeds not words  | The Conversation | | 9 Aug 2021|

• IPCC says Earth will reach temperature rise of about 1.5℃ in around a decade. But limiting any global warming is what matters most | The Conversation | | 9 Aug 2021|

• This is the most sobering report card yet on climate change and Earth’s future. Here’s what you need to know  | The Conversation | | 9 Aug 2021|

• 5 things we learned about climate change at Davos 2020 | weforum.org | Jan 24, 2020

• Read Yuval Harari's blistering warning to Davos in full | weforum.org | Jan 24, 2020

• A climate scientist explains what the melting Arctic means for the world | weforum.org | Jan 23, 2020

• One trillion trees - World Economic Forum launches plan to help nature and the climate | weforum.org | Jan 22, 2020

• 3 charts that show how attitudes to climate science vary around the world | weforum.org | Jan 22, 2020

• This is what Greta Thunberg just told Davos |weforum.org | Jan 21, 2020

• Davos: Trump decries climate 'prophets of doom' with Thunberg in audience | BBC.com | Jan 21, 2020

• 'In my region people are dying because of climate change': One woman's urgent message to Davos | weforum.org | Jan 21, 2020