The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has recently issued a report, titled 'Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability'. The report describes the impact of climate change to date, the future risks from a changing climate, and the opportunities for effective action to reduce the risks. The report has not been the result of a few guys huddled in a back room, indeed the number of experts involved in its preparation is impressive. A total of 309 coordinating lead authors, lead authors, and review editors, drawn from 70 countries, were selected to produce the report. They enlisted the help of 436 contributing authors, and a total of 1,729 expert and government reviewers. We surely can't dispute their findings?! Although, as we know, there are still plenty of skeptics in our midst. The important thing about this report is that it's not just addressing what might happen in the future, but also what is happening right now, as people all around the world, including the residents of the Somerset levels and the Thames valley in the UK, know to their cost.
Climate has no respect for territorial boundaries or people's economic circumstances. Health, homes, food and safety are likely to be affected by rising temperatures. In the words of Rajendre Pachauri, chair of the IPC, "nobody on this planet is going to be untouched by the impacts of climate change". Dealing with the climate requires a two-pronged strategy of mitigation and adaptation. In previous posts, I have stressed the urgent need to take mitigation more seriously by, for example, accelerating the transfer from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, drastically reducing deforestation, planting more trees and reducing individual and industrial energy consumption. But because of the greenhouse gases already 'locked' into the system, mitigation will take time to have a real noticeable impact and meanwhile global temperatures will continue to rise. So as the IPCC report makes abundantly clear, based on the knowledge, experience and expertise of the world's climate experts, adaptation needs to proceed with urgency. In fact, this latest IPCC report puts far greater emphasis on adapting to the impacts of climate change. But the adaptation will require massive investment to protect, for example, populations against rising sea levels, fresh water supplies, crop yields, human health and at-risk industries. Who foots the bill? Well, that's an interesting question, particularly when the problems have been largely created by the richer, developed nations, but the effects will seriously damage the economies of the poorer, developing nations whose carbon emissions per capita have been a fraction of those in the developed world. This issue is global, not national, and therefore, in my opinion, the costs of the solutions and their ultimate benefits, should be shared by all.
Are the world's politicians taking the seriousness of climate change on board? US Secretary of State, John Kerry, was quick to respond to the latest report, saying the costs of inaction on climate change would be "catastrophic", which are fine words. But politicians have short political lives and massive investments without immediate returns are not advantageous to their political careers. When I look at where the world's prominent politicians apply their energies, it is rarely aimed at climate change mitigation or adaptation. John Kerry, for example, is currently more concerned with the situation in Ukraine. Well, I don't know how much more evidence we need, but it would seem to me that the writing is almost on the wall and unless we put far more effort into preventing annihilation of our species, all other 'urgent' political issues just pale into insignificance.
We have all the evidence we need so let's take action to prevent an environmental Armageddon.
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