The fourth and final part of the sixth assessment report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), was released on the morning of Monday (20). In the new document, some of the world's leading climate scientists bring together the most important findings from the previous three sections, make a comprehensive review of the global knowledge we possess about climate change, and lead us to reflect on the future, pointing out possible policies and actions that will avoid the worst ravages of climate collapse, and warning about the impacts of further global warming.

The first three sections, published in 2022, brought important information about the physical science of the climate crisis — including observations and projections of warming for the coming years — the impacts of the climate crisis and how to adapt to them, as well as ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"The integration of effective and equitable climate action will not only reduce loss and damage to nature and people, it will also provide broader benefits. The synthesis report underscores the urgency of more ambitious action and shows that if we act now, we can still ensure a sustainable livable future for all," said IPCC Chairman Hoesung Lee.

The document brings to focus the losses and damages that we are already experiencing today and that will continue in the future, unevenly affecting the most vulnerable and the most fragile ecosystems. However, it states that opting for the right actions now can result in an essential transformational change for a more sustainable and equitable world.

And, according to the IPCC, there is enough money to take the necessary measures. Governments, through public funding and clear signals to investors, are key to reducing existing barriers, the document says. And investors, central banks and financial regulators can also play their part.

"There are already tested policy measures that can work to achieve deep emission reductions and climate resilience if they are scaled up and applied more broadly. Political commitment, coordinated policies, international cooperation, ecosystem management and inclusive governance are important for effective and equitable climate action," the scientists say.

For experts, building on the three previous reports in this series, the evidence is clear: although there is a growing political, business and social mobilization, the scenario is still negative unless the world urgently accelerates efforts to address the climate crisis.

"While the tone of this report doesn't surprise anyone who is familiar with the previous three, the warning is coherent: slow progress is taking place, but it still represents only a drop in the ocean, compared to the size of the emergency," reflects The Nature Conservancy CEO Jennifer Morris.

For her, bridging the gap between the ambition foreseen in the Paris Agreement and the actual implementation of climate solutions will require new policies and programs on a larger scale, as well as ensuring more flows of public and private financing for climate action – short-term costs that are negligible in the face of long-term benefits.

"It is easy to lose hope when one report after another highlights these catastrophic consequences, however, I see that it is possible to achieve a better future. There are indicators that encourage us: in the last ten years, the cost of renewable resources has plummeted, while their efficiency has increased significantly and awareness and appreciation of nature's potential contribution to the climate has been continuously growing," ponders the expert.

Despite this, the IPCC also recalls that this challenge continues to increase, since the demands seen as fundamental so that the warming of the planet does not exceed the limit of 1.5 ° C by the end of the century have been implemented at a pace considered "insufficient" by the members of the panel.

For Guarany Osório, coordinator of the Environmental Policy and Economics Program of the Center for Sustainability Studies of the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGVces), the planet's climate has already increased by 1.2 °C Celsius and we are not on a trajectory to keep global warming below the levels considered as safer by science.

"Brazil is exposed to various climate risks and suffering their impacts such as what happened in São Sebastião. If we are not prepared to adapt to climate change, the country will continue to neglect the risk of new tragedies, impacts that especially affect the most vulnerable and large future economic losses. 

Political aspirations and climate goals are important and can only be sustained with well-designed implementation arrangements and instruments, timelines, sources of financing, robust monitoring and compliance mechanisms," explains Osório.

Source: Um só Planeta