On Monday 14 March, Professor Hans Poertner, co-chair of Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), presented the main findings of the latest IPCC report on the impacts, adaptation and vulnerability of human societies and ecosystems to climate change to members of the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI).
“The science is clear: climate change is a threat to human well-being and the health of the planet. Any further delay in concerted global action will cause us to miss the brief, rapidly closing window (of action) to secure a liveable future”, Poertner said.
He went on to add, “This report offers solutions to the world. It is over to you now”.
Released on Monday 28 February, this scientific document – the second of three parts making up the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report on climate change – shows that climate disruption has caused the dangerous and widespread disruption of ecosystems and is affecting the lives of billions of people, despite efforts to adapt to its impacts (see EUROPE 12900/17).
The IPCC estimates that between 3.3 and 3.6 billion people are living in situations where they are highly vulnerable to climate change.
Without any action, climate change will increasingly jeopardise food security and place around one billion people in low-lying coastal cities and small islands at risk of flooding by the middle of the century, said Mr Poertner.
The report also states that there are growing gaps, especially among low-income populations, between the adaptation measures that are being taken and what is needed.
According to the IPCC, it is therefore necessary for there to be “urgent action” if “mounting losses” are to be avoided.
Limiting warming to 1.5 degrees
Mr Poertner then emphasised the importance of climate change mitigation measures: “At the same time, it is essential to make rapid, deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions to keep the maximum number of adaptation options open”.
This requires keeping the increase in global average temperature above pre-industrial levels to a minimum, and limiting it to 1.5°C.
In fact, beyond 1.5 degrees, a number of natural adaptation solutions may no longer work. A lack of fresh water, for example, could prevent those people who live on small islands and those who are dependent on glaciers and snowmelt, from adapting to circumstances. With an increase of 2 degrees and above, it will be difficult to grow several staple crops in a large number of currently used growing areas.
“Keeping to 1.5 degrees global warming would allow us to stay slightly below the risk transition from moderate to high (...) whereas with 2 degrees we would be well into the high risk area”, said Poertner in summary.
Reactions of MEPs
Reacting to the report’s findings, Peter Liese (EPP, Germany), Tiemo Wölken (S&D, Germany) and several other MEPs stressed that the war in Ukraine should not overshadow the importance of stepping up climate action.
In particular, Mr Wölken said that the EU’s target of reducing its net emissions by at least 55% by 2030 “is not in line with science”, according to the report.
The same opinion was voiced by Bas Eickhout (Greens/EFA, the Netherlands), who also stressed the need to stay below a figure of 1.5 degrees of warming.
Anna Zalewska (ECR, Poland) lamented the lack of emphasis on CO2 capture and storage technologies in European policies.
In response, Mr Poertner recommended that the focus should be on protecting, conserving and restoring ecosystems.
It should also be noted that no member of the Identity and Democracy group took part in the debate.
See the report: https://aeur.eu/f/jd
See the summary for policymakers: https://aeur.eu/f/k1 (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)