Following the mandate given by all governments to the international science body at COP21 in Paris in 2015, the IPCC has prepared a Special Report on 1.5°C, involving thousands of scientists and experts as authors and reviewers. This report includes an analysis of recent research on how to limit global warming to 1.5°C and adverse climate change impacts that need to be confronted. The science report which comprises more than 800 pages is distilled into a Summary for Policymakers which was adopted by all governments at the IPCC session in Korea on 6th October, and will be released to the public on 8 October (1am GMT).
CARE’s new Secretary General Carolin Kende-Robb will also participate in a high-level humanitarian and climate change dialogue on the report in Geneva on 12th October, hosted by the governments of Switzerland and Fiji, the Red Cross and CAN International.
The new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on 1.5°C, ordered and endorsed by all of the world’s governments, shows that many of the dire consequences of climate change can be avoided by limiting global average temperature rise to 1.5°C. Achieving this goal is still possible, but requires a rapid and far-reaching shift across all sectors of the economy to quickly decrease CO2 emissions.
Caroline Kende-Robb, Secretary General of CARE International: “Today, three years after the Paris Agreement, the release of the IPCC Special Report provides governments with a roadmap on how to tackle the climate crisis and prevent a rise above 1.5°C. We are reaching a tipping point beyond which the effects of climate change will be irreversible. 2018 must be the year where governments, cities, citizens, businesses and investors come together to enable us to live within our planetary boundaries and accelerate climate action to reduce emissions now, not in 10 years. Ignoring the necessities for action that the IPCC report spells out is unacceptable.”
Sven Harmeling, Global Policy Lead on Climate Change and Resilience, CARE International: “Released one day ahead of the EU environment ministers’ meeting, the IPCC report shows that the pace of emission cuts in the next decade will make or break the prospects of keeping temperature rise below 1.5°C. The EU needs to show that it takes the Paris Agreement and the IPCC report seriously. This is a matter of justice: EU countries must commit to far greater emission reductions than the currently planned 40% by 2030 and increase their support to poor countries to deal with climate damage.”
Vitu Chinoko, Advocacy & Partnerships Coordinator for Southern Africa, CARE International: “The IPCC report makes it clear: the world must come together now to take serious action to stop global warming. Those who are already poor, vulnerable and marginalised, particularly women and girls, will be most affected. The world must move on from the old global divisions between the North and the South to new politics that seek shared solutions to common global challenges. If we do not take serious action now to limit global warming to 1.5°C and prepare for disasters, thousands of people will starve and suffer."
Read more about CARE's work on Climate Change.