New Delhi: The (IPCC) will consider the Synthesis Report, the closing chapter of the sixth assessment cycle, at its 58th Session to be held from 13 to 17 March 2023 in Interlaken, Switzerland.
The synthesis report by the world’s largest group of climate experts will feed into this year’s global stocktake, IPCC said in a statement. The global stocktake of the 2015 Paris climate pact is a process of taking stock of the implementation of the landmark agreement.
The Paris Agreement seeks to keep global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times and pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees.
The report will gather and distil scientific evidence from the IPCC working group reports and special reports published between 2018 and 2022. It will be the last such report from the IPCC until further reports are published under the next assessment cycle, which could be only in 2027or 2028.
Culminating with this Synthesis Report, the science from the IPCC is crucial evidence to governments on the state of the climate crisis in this critical decade and must serve as a warning to polluters that their time is up.
“The window of time to keep global temperatures below 1.5ºC is fast closing. Current collective climate targets put the world on a 2.8ºC pathway by 2100” said the statement.
The Synthesis Report will integrate the findings of six reports released by IPCC during the cycle which began in 2015. This includes three Special Reports and the three IPCC Working Group contributions to the Sixth Assessment Report.
During the week-long session, governments will approve the Summary for Policymakers of the Synthesis Report line by line and adopt the longer report section by section.
SOME REACTION OVER THE UPCOMING IPCC SYNTHESIS REPORT 2023
Commenting over the report, Stephan Singer, Senior Global Specialist on Climate Science and Energy, CAN International, said that “The forthcoming IPCC report will present a sobering read on the state of the climate crisis but we know the solutions are on hand. This report should mobilise governments to envision and act towards transitioning into a fully renewable-energy powered society supported by strong energy efficiency measures, based on principles of justice and the protection of human rights”.
Harjeet Singh, Head of Global Political Strategy, Climate Action Network International said that, “The question is: what will governments do with these facts? We demand a rapid and equitable phase out of all fossil fuels based on just transitions and scaling up finance for communities who are reaching the limits of adaptation and suffering the consequences of loss and damage.”
Dr Stephanie Roe, WWF Global Climate and Energy Lead Scientist and Lead Author on IPCC Working Group III report on mitigation. said, “Leaders must heed the science and act immediately with the pace and scale necessary to decarbonise our economies in time. The clock is ticking and we are running out of time, and no countries are yet on track for a 1.5ºC pathway. An accelerated phase-out of fossil fuels is needed to limit global warming to below 1.5ºC and avoid the worst climate change risks”.
May Boeve, Executive Director, 350.org said, “There are reasons to be hopeful, investment into renewable energy is at an all time high, but the reality is that powering up on renewables will only have an impact if we power down fossil fuels. We can add as much renewable energy capacity as we like to the mix — but if we’re not eliminating emissions that come from fossil fuel use, we’re not getting anywhere”.
“The science is crystal clear: A rapid fossil fuel phaseout and rollout of renewable energies alongside energy efficiency and demand-side measures remain the most straightforward and most certain path to climate justice. Overshooting the 1.5°C limit, even temporarily, would bring catastrophic and irreversible impacts and must be avoided” Lili Fuhr, Deputy Director, Climate and Energy Program, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL).
Olivier Bois von Kursk, Policy Analyst, International Institute for Sustainable Development said that “The IPCC Synthesis Report gives us the clearest evidence to date on the devastation of climate change and our failure to address its underlying causes. The clear implication is that we must act immediately to phase out coal, oil and gas—IISD’s analysis of IPCC pathways to 1.5°C shows oil and gas production needs to decrease 30% by 2030 and 65% by 2050.
Ellie Cohen, CEO, The Climate Center said, ““This report once again states — in dire terms — what world leaders have known for a long time. The climate crisis is here, it’s deadly, and it’s driven by fossil fuels. The good news is that we also have the solutions at hand to build a world beyond oil, gas, and coal. In places like California and around the globe, we have the technology and the know-how to build an equitable, clean energy economy. The only thing holding us back is political will.”
