CLIMATE CHANGE 2023 Synthesis Report Summary for Policymakers
Modified
Last updated December 26, 2023
Summary
Title: CLIMATE CHANGE 2023 Synthesis Report Summary for Policymakers
Summary:
- The book presents a concise and informative summary of the climate change research findings from the year 2023.
- It offers key insights into the current state of the climate crisis and highlights potential interventions and policy recommendations.
Key Learnings:
- Climate change is accelerating at an alarming rate, with severe implications for ecosystems, biodiversity, and human well-being.
- Human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, are the primary contributors to global warming and climate change.
- Urgent and drastic action is required to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the changing climate.
- Curbing deforestation, transitioning to renewable energy sources, and promoting sustainable practices are crucial in combating climate change.
- Communities, governments, and businesses must collaborate to develop and implement effective climate change strategies.
As a UX Designer, why should you read this book:
Climate change is a global crisis that impacts various aspects of society, including user behaviors
✏️ Highlights
the near term is defined as the period until 2040. The long term is defined as the period beyond 2040.
Human activities, principally through emissions of greenhouse gases, have unequivocally caused global warming, with global surface temperature reaching 1.1°C above 1850-1900
in 2011-2020. Global greenhouse gas emissions have continued to increase, with unequal historical and ongoing contributions arising from unsustainable energy use, land use and land-use change, lifestyles and patterns of consumption and production across regions, between and within countries, and among individuals (high confidence). {2.1, Figure 2.1,
1.09°C [0.95 to 1.20] °C5 higher in 2011-2020 than 1850-19006, with larger increases over land (1.59 [1.34 to 1.83] °C) than over the ocean (0.88 [0.68 to 1.01] °C).
Global surface temperature has increased faster since 1970 than in any other 50-year period over at least the last 2000 years (high confidence).
GHG emissions came from the sectors of energy, industry, transport, and buildings together and 22%10 from agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU).
It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land. Global mean sea level increased by 0.20 [0.15 to 0.25] m between 1901 and 2018.
Impacts on some ecosystems are approaching irreversibility such as the impacts of hydrological changes resulting from the retreat of glaciers, or the changes in some mountain (medium confidence) and Arctic ecosystems driven by permafrost thaw (high confidence). {2.1.2, Figure 2.3} (Figure SPM.1) 10
Acute food insecurity can occur at any time with a severity that threatens lives, livelihoods or both, regardless of the causes, context or duration, as a result of shocks risking determinants of food security and nutrition, and is used to assess the need for humanitarian action. {2.1}
A.2.4 Climate change has reduced food security and affected water security, hindering efforts to meet Sustainable Development Goals (high confidence).
Although overall agricultural productivity has increased, climate change has slowed this growth over the past 50 years globally (medium confidence),
Ocean warming and ocean acidification have adversely affected food production from fisheries and shellfish aquaculture in some oceanic regions (high confidence).
Roughly half of the world’s population currently experience severe water scarcity for at least part of the year due to a combination of climatic and non-climatic drivers (medium confidence). {2.1.2, Figure 2.3}
increases in extreme heat events have resulted in human mortality and morbidity (very high
increases in extreme heat events have resulted in human mortality and morbidity (very high confidence).
The occurrence of climate-related food-borne and water-borne diseases (very high confidence) and the incidence of vector-borne diseases (high confidence) have increased. In assessed regions, some mental health challenges are associated with increasing temperatures (high confidence), trauma from extreme events (very high confidence), and loss of livelihoods and culture (high confidence). Climate and weather extremes are increasingly driving displacement
Hot extremes have intensified in cities. Urban infrastructure, including transportation, water, sanitation and energy systems have been compromised by extreme and slow-onset events14, with resulting economic losses, disruptions of services and negative impacts to well-being. Observed adverse impacts are concentrated amongst economically
Hot extremes have intensified in cities. Urban infrastructure, including transportation, water, sanitation and energy systems have been compromised by extreme and slow-onset events14, with resulting economic losses, disruptions of services and negative impacts to well-being. Observed adverse impacts are concentrated amongst economically and socially marginalised urban residents. (high confidence) {2.1.2}
increasing temperature means, desertification, decreasing precipitation, loss of biodiversity, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat and related impacts, ocean acidification, sea level rise and salinization. {2.1.2}
Growing public and political awareness of climate impacts and risks has resulted in at least 170 countries and many cities including adaptation in their climate policies and planning processes (high confidence). {2.2.3}
A.3.3 Most observed adaptation responses are fragmented, incremental18, sector-specific and unequally distributed across regions. Despite progress, adaptation gaps exist across sectors and regions, and will continue to grow under current levels of implementation, with the largest adaptation gaps among lower income groups. (high confidence). {2.3.2}
A.3.4 There is increased evidence of maladaptation in various sectors and regions (high confidence). Maladaptation especially affects marginalised and vulnerable groups adversely (high confidence).
A.3.6 Key barriers to adaptation are limited resources, lack of private sector and citizen engagement, insufficient mobilization of finance (including for research), low climate literacy, lack of political commitment, limited research and/or slow and low uptake of adaptation science, and low sense of urgency.
possible future development of anthropogenic
High and very high GHG emissions scenarios (SSP3-7.0 and SSP5-8.522) have CO2 emissions that roughly double from current levels by 2100 and 2050, respectively.
Pathways (SSPs)21 that cover the range of possible future development of anthropogenic drivers of climate change found in the literature.
The Paris Agreement, adopted under the UNFCCC, with near universal participation, has led to policy development and target-setting at national and sub-national levels, in particular in relation to mitigation, as well as enhanced transparency of climate action
Reductions were linked to energy supply decarbonisation, energy efficiency gains, and energy demand reduction, which resulted from both policies and changes in economic structure (high confidence).
A.4.5 The adoption of low-emission technologies lags in most developing countries, particularly least developed ones, due in part to limited finance, technology development and transfer, and capacity (medium confidence).
Targeted reductions of air pollutant emissions lead to more rapid improvements in air quality within years compared to reductions in GHG emissions only, but in the long term, further improvements are projected in scenarios that combine efforts to reduce air pollutants as well as GHG emissions33. (high confidence)
With every additional increment of global warming, changes in extremes continue to become larger.
Continued global warming is projected to further intensify the global water cycle, including its variability, global monsoon precipitation, and very wet and very dry weather and
Natural variability includes natural drivers and internal variability. The main internal variability phenomena include El Niño-Southern Oscillation, Pacific Decadal Variability and Atlantic Multi-decadal Variability. {4.3}
further global mean sea level rise (virtually certain), and increased ocean acidification (virtually certain) and deoxygenation (high confidence).
reduced extents and/or volumes of almost all cryospheric elements34 (high confidence),
Standard deviation is a widely used metric in characterising drought severity.
A projected reduction in mean soil moisture by one standard deviation corresponds to soil moisture conditions typical of droughts that occurred about once every six years during 1850-1900.
For any given future warming level, many climate-related risks are higher than assessed in AR5, and projected long-term impacts are up to multiple times higher than currently observed (high confidence).
Hazards and associated risks expected in the near-term include an increase in heat-related human mortality and morbidity (high confidence),
B.2.1 In the near term, every region in the world is projected to face further increases in climate hazards ( medium to high confidence, depending on region and hazard), increasing multiple risks to ecosystems and humans (very high confidence).
Cryosphere-related changes in floods, landslides, and water availability have the potential to lead to severe consequences for people, infrastructure and the economy in most mountain regions (high confidence). The projected increase in frequency and intensity of heavy precipitation (high confidence) will increase rain-generated local flooding (medium confidence).
Climate-driven food insecurity and supply instability, for example, are projected to increase with s increasing global warming, interacting with non-climatic risk drivers such as competition for land between urban expansion and food production, pandemics and conflict. (high confidence) {3.1.2, 4.3, Figure 4.3}
the near term is defined as the period until 2040. The long term is defined as the period beyond 2040.
Human activities, principally through emissions of greenhouse gases, have unequivocally caused global warming, with global surface temperature reaching 1.1°C above 1850-1900
in 2011-2020. Global greenhouse gas emissions have continued to increase, with unequal historical and ongoing contributions arising from unsustainable energy use, land use and land-use change, lifestyles and patterns of consumption and production across regions, between and within countries, and among individuals (high confidence). {2.1, Figure 2.1,
1.09°C [0.95 to 1.20] °C5 higher in 2011-2020 than 1850-19006, with larger increases over land (1.59 [1.34 to 1.83] °C) than over the ocean (0.88 [0.68 to 1.01] °C).
Global surface temperature has increased faster since 1970 than in any other 50-year period over at least the last 2000 years (high confidence).
GHG emissions came from the sectors of energy, industry, transport, and buildings together and 22%10 from agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU).
It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land. Global mean sea level increased by 0.20 [0.15 to 0.25] m between 1901 and 2018.
Impacts on some ecosystems are approaching irreversibility such as the impacts of hydrological changes resulting from the retreat of glaciers, or the changes in some mountain (medium confidence) and Arctic ecosystems driven by permafrost thaw (high confidence). {2.1.2, Figure 2.3} (Figure SPM.1) 10
Acute food insecurity can occur at any time with a severity that threatens lives, livelihoods or both, regardless of the causes, context or duration, as a result of shocks risking determinants of food security and nutrition, and is used to assess the need for humanitarian action. {2.1}
A.2.4 Climate change has reduced food security and affected water security, hindering efforts to meet Sustainable Development Goals (high confidence).
Although overall agricultural productivity has increased, climate change has slowed this growth over the past 50 years globally (medium confidence),
Ocean warming and ocean acidification have adversely affected food production from fisheries and shellfish aquaculture in some oceanic regions (high confidence).
Roughly half of the world’s population currently experience severe water scarcity for at least part of the year due to a combination of climatic and non-climatic drivers (medium confidence). {2.1.2, Figure 2.3}
increases in extreme heat events have resulted in human mortality and morbidity (very high
increases in extreme heat events have resulted in human mortality and morbidity (very high confidence).
The occurrence of climate-related food-borne and water-borne diseases (very high confidence) and the incidence of vector-borne diseases (high confidence) have increased. In assessed regions, some mental health challenges are associated with increasing temperatures (high confidence), trauma from extreme events (very high confidence), and loss of livelihoods and culture (high confidence). Climate and weather extremes are increasingly driving displacement
Hot extremes have intensified in cities. Urban infrastructure, including transportation, water, sanitation and energy systems have been compromised by extreme and slow-onset events14, with resulting economic losses, disruptions of services and negative impacts to well-being. Observed adverse impacts are concentrated amongst economically
Hot extremes have intensified in cities. Urban infrastructure, including transportation, water, sanitation and energy systems have been compromised by extreme and slow-onset events14, with resulting economic losses, disruptions of services and negative impacts to well-being. Observed adverse impacts are concentrated amongst economically and socially marginalised urban residents. (high confidence) {2.1.2}
increasing temperature means, desertification, decreasing precipitation, loss of biodiversity, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat and related impacts, ocean acidification, sea level rise and salinization. {2.1.2}
Growing public and political awareness of climate impacts and risks has resulted in at least 170 countries and many cities including adaptation in their climate policies and planning processes (high confidence). {2.2.3}
A.3.3 Most observed adaptation responses are fragmented, incremental18, sector-specific and unequally distributed across regions. Despite progress, adaptation gaps exist across sectors and regions, and will continue to grow under current levels of implementation, with the largest adaptation gaps among lower income groups. (high confidence). {2.3.2}
A.3.4 There is increased evidence of maladaptation in various sectors and regions (high confidence). Maladaptation especially affects marginalised and vulnerable groups adversely (high confidence).
A.3.6 Key barriers to adaptation are limited resources, lack of private sector and citizen engagement, insufficient mobilization of finance (including for research), low climate literacy, lack of political commitment, limited research and/or slow and low uptake of adaptation science, and low sense of urgency.
possible future development of anthropogenic
High and very high GHG emissions scenarios (SSP3-7.0 and SSP5-8.522) have CO2 emissions that roughly double from current levels by 2100 and 2050, respectively.
Pathways (SSPs)21 that cover the range of possible future development of anthropogenic drivers of climate change found in the literature.
The Paris Agreement, adopted under the UNFCCC, with near universal participation, has led to policy development and target-setting at national and sub-national levels, in particular in relation to mitigation, as well as enhanced transparency of climate action
Reductions were linked to energy supply decarbonisation, energy efficiency gains, and energy demand reduction, which resulted from both policies and changes in economic structure (high confidence).
A.4.5 The adoption of low-emission technologies lags in most developing countries, particularly least developed ones, due in part to limited finance, technology development and transfer, and capacity (medium confidence).
Targeted reductions of air pollutant emissions lead to more rapid improvements in air quality within years compared to reductions in GHG emissions only, but in the long term, further improvements are projected in scenarios that combine efforts to reduce air pollutants as well as GHG emissions33. (high confidence)
With every additional increment of global warming, changes in extremes continue to become larger.
Continued global warming is projected to further intensify the global water cycle, including its variability, global monsoon precipitation, and very wet and very dry weather and
Natural variability includes natural drivers and internal variability. The main internal variability phenomena include El Niño-Southern Oscillation, Pacific Decadal Variability and Atlantic Multi-decadal Variability. {4.3}
further global mean sea level rise (virtually certain), and increased ocean acidification (virtually certain) and deoxygenation (high confidence).
reduced extents and/or volumes of almost all cryospheric elements34 (high confidence),
Standard deviation is a widely used metric in characterising drought severity.
A projected reduction in mean soil moisture by one standard deviation corresponds to soil moisture conditions typical of droughts that occurred about once every six years during 1850-1900.
For any given future warming level, many climate-related risks are higher than assessed in AR5, and projected long-term impacts are up to multiple times higher than currently observed (high confidence).
Hazards and associated risks expected in the near-term include an increase in heat-related human mortality and morbidity (high confidence),
B.2.1 In the near term, every region in the world is projected to face further increases in climate hazards ( medium to high confidence, depending on region and hazard), increasing multiple risks to ecosystems and humans (very high confidence).
Cryosphere-related changes in floods, landslides, and water availability have the potential to lead to severe consequences for people, infrastructure and the economy in most mountain regions (high confidence). The projected increase in frequency and intensity of heavy precipitation (high confidence) will increase rain-generated local flooding (medium confidence).
Climate-driven food insecurity and supply instability, for example, are projected to increase with s increasing global warming, interacting with non-climatic risk drivers such as competition for land between urban expansion and food production, pandemics and conflict. (high confidence) {3.1.2, 4.3, Figure 4.3}
