Findings of Synthesis Report

Findings of Synthesis Report

Subject: Environment

Section: Climate Change

Context: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published its Synthesis Report (SYR) on March 20, 2023.

More on the News:

• It summarizes the findings of six reports released during its Sixth Assessment Cycle — the 1.5 C report of 2018, the Special Reports on Land and Oceans of 2019, and the three Assessment Reports published between 2021 and 2022.
• The SYR is presented in the wake of major global upheavals brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent global energy crisis.

Findings of Synthesis Report:

• Excess emissions from human activities have raised global temperature by 1.1°C above 1850-1900. Human activities have ‘unequivocally’ caused global warming, says the IPCC, with global net anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions clocking in at 59 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e), 54 per cent higher than the level in 1990.
• Current policy action will lead to further temperature rise, and the impacts on human and other forms of life will become more severe.
  • Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) announced by countries till October 2021 make it likely that warming will exceed 1.5°C during the 21st century and make it harder to limit warming below 2°C. With every increment of global warming, climatic extremes will become more widespread and pronounced.
  • There may be some irreversible changes in the climate system when tipping points are reached, such as the loss of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets.
• At current emissions levels, we will deplete the remaining carbon budget.
• We need to cut GHG emissions across all sectors urgently, within this decade and no later
  • GHG emissions must be cut by 43 per cent by 2030 compared to 2019 levels, and CO2 emissions must be cut by 48 per cent. This must be accompanied by reaching global net zero CO2 emissions in the early 2050s.
• We have all the solutions we need to shift to low-carbon economic systems
  • Systemic changes like widespread electrification, diversifying energy generation to include more wind, solar, and small-scale hydropower, deploying more battery-powered electric vehicles, and conserving and restoring forests while also reducing tropical deforestation.
• Political commitment and equity are key to enabling this shift – there is enough finance, it needs to be directed to climate action.
• Some parts of the world have already reached their adaptation limits. Certain tropical, coastal, polar and mountain ecosystems, the report stated, have reached their hard limits of adaptation, where adaptive actions cannot avoid negative impacts.
  • Adaptation in some places has also reached its soft limits. This situation arises when technological and socioeconomic options for adaptive action are not immediately available, resulting in impacts and risks that are currently unavoidable.
  • Adaptation gaps exist and will continue to grow if no action is taken; the lower-income group will suffer the most.
  • There is increased evidence of maladaptation in various sectors and regions. Maladaptation affects marginalised and vulnerable groups adversely.
• There are multiple barriers to implementing carbon capture and storage (CCS), a technology tool that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The report highlighted some of the barriers are technological, economic, institutional, ecological, environmental and socio-cultural barriers.
• The report stated that carbon dioxide removal (CDR) would be necessary to achieve net-negative CO2 emissions. If warming exceeds 1.5 degrees Celsius, the report suggested additional CDR deployment is needed.
• The report has pointed out that most vulnerable populations are greatly affected by Loss &Damage linked to burgeoning climatic impacts; and experts contended that almost the whole of India, particularly its coastal and mountain regions, qualify under the category.

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