Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. The Latest IPCC Report.

6 Apr 2022

‘We are definitely not on track to limit global warming by 1.5°C degrees’.

This is an unsettling quote from the IPCC press conference that was held on the 4th April 2022 in honour of the latest climate change report. Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change is the contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the IPCC. The report was written by 270 researchers from 67 different countries and approved by 195 governments.

The main findings of the report include the following:

• Global emissions have continued to rise from 2009 - 2019 across all major greenhouse gas (GHG) groups, and these emissions were higher than any other decade on record.
• Regional contributions to global GHG emissions vary depending on the region.

• Innovative policy packages have facilitated the reduction in costs associated with low-emission technologies. However, innovation in developing countries has lagged due to weakened enabling conditions.
• Mitigation policy and law have grown across the world since the Fifth IPCC Assessment Report.

• The GHG targets announced before COP26 would make it likely that global temperature increases will exceed 1.5°C during the 21st century.
• If we don’t strengthen policy, critical climate targets will be missed.

• Reduction of GHG emissions will require major transitions across the energy sector, which includes a significant transition away from fossil fuel dependence and deployment of low-emission energy sources.
• Net-zero CO2 emissions from the industrial sector will be challenging, but it is possible.

• Urgent, effective, and equitable mitigation and adaptation plans are essential to sustainable development.
• International cooperation is critical to achieving ambitious climate change mitigation goals.

Climate models tell us that global emissions must peak in 2025 and then decline rapidly if we want to stand any chance at meeting our 1.5°C target. Human activity has pushed our planet to the brink. If we continue at our current rate, we will have exhausted our remaining carbon budget by 2030. The science has never been more consistent or clear. So why do our political leaders continue to put climate action on the back-burner?

While the IPCC report acknowledges the looming reality of climate change, there is a clear message of hope and action. We can halve emissions by 2030. We have options available to us in every sector which would allow emissions to be reduced on a global scale. We know what must be done. Now we just need the political will to take radical and immediate action.

The next few years are critical. Business as usual cannot continue if we want to address the climate crisis. Only immediate and extensive societal change will allow us to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Equity and fairness must be at the centre of our climate actions. In Ireland, we must have an extensive just transition framework that ensures that no one is left behind.

The governments of the world have set critical climate targets in the 2015 Paris Agreement, and they must honour these obligations. The longer we delay climate action, the bigger the problem will get.

‘We are at a crossroads. The decisions we make now can secure a liveable future. We have the tools and know-how required to limit warming’ said IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee.

It’s clear that we cannot wait for politicians to take the action that is required to avoid climate chaos. Public will is a key driver of political action and we must come together and demand action, for the good of our people and our planet.

Time is running out. It’s now or never.

Read the summary for policymakers here.

Read the technical summary here.

Read the full report here.