Civil society set expectations as governments prepare to approve landmark IPCC report on climate impacts

11 February 2022

11 February 2022: The forthcoming IPCC report on impacts, adaptation and vulnerability, the second report under the Sixth Assessment Cycle of the IPCC, is expected to lay out in stark detail the extent to which climate change is destroying people’s lives, livelihoods and well-being and damaging ecosystems and biodiversity.

The formal approval process by governments on the Summary for Policymakers will be held between 14-25 February, with the full report to be released on 28 February.

Civil society representatives warn governments that the findings from the report will be hard to ignore and urgent funding for adaptation and loss and damage is critical.   

Dr Stephen Cornelius, Global Lead for IPCC, WWF said:
“The upcoming climate report from the IPCC is expected to lay bare the devastating impacts that delayed action and weak implementation of countries’ climate promises are having on people and nature. Over the past year we’ve seen more examples of the ruin to lives and livelihoods caused by more frequent extreme events, from heatwaves to floods and wildfires. This offers a small glimpse of what a warmer world brings. We know that to help communities and ecosystems now and in the years to come, governments need to invest more to build climate resilience and to slash polluting carbon emissions to give adaptation a fighting chance.”

Harjeet Singh, Senior Adviser, Climate Action Network International, said:
“As governments prepare to formally approve the IPCC report on climate impacts and vulnerability, what must weigh on their minds is the immense responsibility and duty they have to accept the science and enact urgent measures to prevent more human suffering and ecological devastation from climate change.This report will be a foundational reference point on the latest science on climate impacts. It must galvanise the political will from rich countries to substantially increase their funding for adaptation, to help those least resourced to cope with rising impacts, and to finally set up a loss and damage finance facility this year which is a long-standing demand from almost 140 developing countries representing over 5 billion people from the global South.”     

Sanjay Vashist, Director, Climate Action Network South Asia, said :
“The second working group report of the IPCC is of particular importance to policymakers in South Asia as it will help them prepare appropriate adaptation actions, protect human lives and build climate resilient economies. The region is already reeling under the devastating impacts of extreme weather events such as floods, landslides, droughts, cyclones, heatwaves, cold waves, and sea level rise that not only forcibly displaced populations but is forcing entire villages to migrate in search of survival livelihoods. 
Many impacts of climate change are now unavoidable but the harm they cause is not inevitable if urgent and effective adaptation is put into place, supported by solidarity between citizens of different nations, who all face a shared challenge. The international community, particularly rich countries, have an obligation to provide finance and promote policies that protect human rights 
of displaced and migrant communities around the world.”

Ashwini Prabha, Board Chair, Pacific Islands Climate Action Network, said:
“The IPCC report is set to show the scientific evidence of the impacts of climate change on human and natural systems. Failing to act on the climate crisis with urgency is failing the island and atoll states of the Pacific. The efforts of rich countries, while growing, are insufficient to cover the economic and non-economic loss and damage experienced by Pacific states. We’ve had enough of climate hypocrisy; we need action now!”

Lien Vandamme, Senior Campaigner, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), said: 
“Governments have repeatedly failed the countries least responsible and most impacted by the climate emergency. The IPCC report is expected to confirm that irreversible damage not only to natural ecosystems but also to communities and their human rights is already underway and will accelerate to unprecedented levels if global  temperatures continue to rise. This report should be (yet another) wake-up call for leaders to finally summon the courage to make strong decisions and deliver on finance for loss and damage while phasing fossil-fuels.”

Teresa Anderson, Climate Justice Lead, ActionAid International said: 
“The IPCC’s horrifying evidence of escalating climate impacts is set to show a nightmare painted in the dry language of science.
“ActionAid’s emergency teams are supporting families whose homes were swept away by Storm Ana’s heavy rains in Southern Africa, and communities in Somaliland and Afghanistan where severe drought and conflict are causing escalating hunger and malnutrition crises. Women and girls are on the frontlines of these crises and at greater risk of gender-based violence. But climate vulnerable communities are not yet getting the support they urgently need, to cope with a crisis they did not cause. 

“Climate negotiations at this year’s COP27 in Egypt must finally deliver a Loss and Damage funding facility to support those who are being hardest hit by climate impacts.”

Sven Harmeling, Global Policy Lead, CARE International, said:
“As scientists and governments approach the finalisation of this latest state-of-the-art report on the impacts of the climate crisis, we expect the results to document what hundreds of millions of people already know, especially in the global South.
The climate crisis is here today, and it is already making many people suffer and lose their livelihoods, in particular women and girls. Ramping up climate adaptation everywhere has to be an indispensable element of every government’s national plan, and the IPCC report will hopefully provide advice on what has worked best, while also reflecting the limits of adaptation, today and tomorrow. As a matter of climate justice, the report must also drive home the need to close the enormous climate finance gap so the most vulnerable can prepare for and deal with the unavoidable and deeply damaging impacts of climate change. This cannot be watered down for the sake of political compromise.”

Rachel Cleetus, Policy Director and Lead Economist, Climate and Energy Program, Union of Concerned Scientists said: 
“The forthcoming IPCC report will confirm what we already know about the crushing toll of heatwaves, drought, floods, storms, wildfires and ocean acidification for people and critical ecosystems.
Additionally, this comprehensive scientific assessment will underscore how much worse the climate crisis is likely to get if we fail to take bold global action. The onus now is firmly on policymakers, especially those in richer countries, to take responsibility for the loss and damage already occurring in climate-vulnerable nations and to galvanize the transformative policies and investments needed to secure a safe and just future for all.
Within this make-or-break decade, sharp cuts in heat-trapping emissions and robust investments in adaptation are necessary for advancing climate resilience in communities around the world.”

Romain Ioualalen, Global Policy Lead, Oil Change International, said:
This new report by the IPCC will confirm that the accelerating climate crisis is creating devastating impacts for millions around the world. These impacts will only get worse unless governments take drastic measures to address the root cause of this crisis: our continued reliance on fossil fuels.
Limiting warming to 1.5°C, which will already lock in catastrophic impacts in many parts of the world, requires immediately ending the expansion of fossil fuel production. Rich countries need to not only compensate countries for the loss and damage they are incurring because of climate impacts, but they also need to lead the way in planning a rapid phase out of oil and gas production and supporting clean energy access around the world.

Taylor Dimsdale, Risk and Resilience Program Director at E3G, said:
“Across Europe and around the world the climate crisis is escalating, and impacting people’s daily lives more and more. But let’s not be cynical: it’s also an unequal crisis, at a time of worsening inequalities.
Everywhere climate impacts are hitting vulnerable people hardest, particularly in the Global South. The IPCC report will demonstrate this with the latest science available and yes, we all need to adapt to this new reality, but rich countries need to support poorer ones, who have contributed the least to cause this emergency we are in” 

Chiara Martinelli, Director, Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe, said:
“Loss and damage is not an abstract issue for the future. It is affecting 1.7 billion globally and will increase significantly in the years to come. The costs, whether economic or human, are already substantial and will only escalate, sparing no country. Developed countries must provide the practical support that builds upon existing financial and technical tools, while exploring innovative financing options that meet the needs of people on the frontline of climate change’s impacts.”
“The upcoming IPCC report will show once again how urgent action is needed. Extreme weather events and the risk of breaching climate tipping points are increasing. The climate crisis is a human global crisis – but there is still time to act. Significant adaptation measures and investments have to be implemented, so communities around the world can improve their resilience and face the future.”

Eddy Pérez, International Climate Diplomacy Manager, Climate Action Network – Réseau action climat (CAN-Rac) Canada, said:
“Around the world, we are experiencing more frequent and devastating climate impacts, hitting the most vulnerable the hardest. We expect this IPCC report to confirm the incredible danger of governments’ continued complacency towards fossil fuel development and unsustainable growth – and the toll it has taken on the world’s most vulnerable people.
Those who are least responsible for the crisis, and have the fewest resources to prepare for and recover from disasters, are the ones bearing the brunt of floods, droughts, rising oceans, and extreme temperatures. This report must help us tackle the inequity of climate impacts and propel wealthy countries like Canada to finally commit adequate support to redress climate injustice: for adaptation, to build resilience, and for losses and damages, to compensate people for destruction of their homes, health, and livelihoods.”

Kaisa Kosonen, Climate Expert, Greenpeace Nordic, said:
“I expect the IPCC report to make the realities of those in the most vulnerable situations impossible to ignore. Hard facts presented in the report will make the lack of action and commitment from high-emitters more evident, and the calls for justice even stronger.”
“Climate impacts are already being felt around the world. To avoid the worst, we need urgent emission cuts and climate justice. We need investments in adaptation, building equity, compensating for and insuring against losses and damages and fostering resilient development pathways where everyone can participate. None of this will happen unless high-emitters start by curbing their emissions in line with the science.” 

Nama Chowdhary, Head of Public Engagement Department, 350.org, nama@350.org, stated:
“Each IPCC report offers further compelling evidence of the climate crisis, the drastic impacts of which are already a lived reality for billions of people. Yet for a short window of time, this still remains an avoidable future for billions more. It is long past time for governments to focus on adaptation not as a way of surviving the worst impacts of the climate crisis, but as a call to transform how we live, to avert further damage. Instead of subsidising fossil fuels in the trillions of dollars annually, governments must take their lead from the first adapters to the climate crisis: communities who are fighting for their futures. Real leadership lies in backing people powered solutions, like local green energy systems and community-owned seed banks. These are the models that offer us a vision of an alternative world, and a future worth imagining.”

Steve Trent, CEO and founder, Environmental Justice Foundation, said:
“The climate crisis is a human rights crisis, and the latest IPCC report will confirm the immense human suffering it will bring. Developed nations – who have contributed the most to heating our planet – must do more to address the inequalities, loss, and damage driven by global heating. They must increase their support to developing nations and the most vulnerable communities, who did the least to cause this crisis. Decisive action on climate is not a ‘cost’: it is an investment, not just in our future, but in our survival. Such investment would represent the greatest cost-saving of human history.”

Yolande Wright, Director, Global Poverty and Climate, Save the Children, said:
“The climate crisis is a child right’s crisis at its core that affects children first and worst. It is children – the generations of today and tomorrow – who are already bearing the brunt.
“It is urgent that a comprehensive financing package, including a new mechanism to address loss and damage, is delivered by COP27 to help address the cost of the irreversible impacts of the climate crisis to children’s rights.”

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CONTACT
Dharini Parthasarathy, Senior Communications Officer, Climate Action Network International, dparthasarathy@climatenetwork.org  / +918826107930

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