Top 10 Climate Science Insights Unveiled
Rapid Fossil Fuels Phase-out Crucial for Minimising 1.5°C Overshoot
Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Yesterday, global experts in social and natural sciences have unveiled the annual 10 New Insights in Climate Science report, alongside UNFCCC Executive Secretary, Mr. Simon Stiell. The report equips policymakers with the latest and most pivotal climate science research from the previous 18 months, synthesised to help inform negotiations at COP28 and policy implementation through 2024 and beyond. Ana Bastos, group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, co-authored the report.
Mr. Simon Stiell, UNFCCC Executive Secretary said: “The 10 New Insights in Climate Science report provides an essential tool for decision makers at a critical time in the climate calendar each year. Scientific findings from reports like these should inform the ambitious and evidence-based action plans needed in this critical decade of accelerated climate action.”
The scientific insights of the report function as indispensable evidence for decision makers in business and policy, equipping them with the latest climate science to facilitate informed, effective decision-making on holistic climate and nature solutions, especially against the backdrop of the inaugural Global Stocktake at COP28, which underscores the pressing need for transformative actions to fulfil the Paris Agreement's ambitions.
The report findings underscore the looming inevitability of overshooting the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C global warming target, emphasising the urgency of a rapid and managed fossil fuel phase-out.
Prof. Johan Rockström, Director, Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research commented: "Science is clear. COP28 must be the global meeting when the world gets serious about phasing out fossil-fuels. Dubai is the grand mitigation moment for coal, oil and gas, which need to shift from increasing 1%/yr to decreasing globally by at least 5 %/yr, and for nature by protecting remaining carbon sinks and stocks in ecosystems, plus building resilience and new carbon sinks in agriculture. So far, we have failed on both nature and energy, taking us on a dangerous path towards losing sight of the Paris Agreement target - the 1.5°C biophysical limit."
The report also highlights the need for robust policies to attain the scale needed for effective complementary technology solutions, such as carbon dioxide removal (CDR), especially amidst emerging concerns over the future of land and ocean carbon sinks.
These carbon sinks are the research area of Ana Bastos, group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry. She contributed her expertise in the area of the effects of extreme events to finding 4 of the report. She summarizes: “There is increasing evidence that the negative impacts of climate change and especially extremes on the land and ocean natural sinks might be more severe than currently projected.” Under future climatic conditions, natural carbon sinks such as tropical forests could absorb less carbon from the atmosphere than at present. “The slower we move towards net zero emissions, the more will we need increasingly ambitious and costly climate change mitigation and adaptation policies.”
The 10 New Insights in Climate Science series, launched with the UNFCCC at the COPs since 2017, is a collaborative initiative of Future Earth, the Earth League and the World Climate Research Programme, synthesising the latest developments in climate change research. This year’s report represents the collective efforts of 67 leading researchers from 24 countries.
Dr. Wendy Broadgate, Global Hub Director, Future Earth, concludes: “Science shows that we are heading for overshooting 1.5°C degrees. Minimising this overshoot is critical if we want to reduce risks to societies all over the world. COP28 must be the inflection point where collective action to phase out fossil fuels gathers pace.”
Full list of insights:
- Overshooting 1.5°C is fast becoming inevitable. Minimising the magnitude and duration of overshoot is essential.
- A rapid and managed fossil fuel phase-out is required to stay within the Paris Agreement target range.
- Robust policies are critical to attain the scale needed for effective carbon dioxide removal (CDR).
- Over-reliance on natural carbon sinks is a risky strategy; their future contribution is uncertain.
- Joint governance is necessary to address the interlinked climate and biodiversity emergencies.
- Compound events amplify climate risks and increase their uncertainty.
- Mountain glacier loss is accelerating.
- Human immobility in areas with climate risks is increasing.
- New tools to operationalise justice enable more effective climate adaptation.
- Reforming food systems can contribute to just climate action.
The text is based on an English press release kindly provided by the Future Earth Governing Council.
