On 20 March 2023, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its latest report, which is likely to be the final edition before a potential “game over” scenario. Spanning 8,000 pages, the report presents undeniable evidence of the challenges we face with regard to climate change.
Despite the grim outlook, the report is written in a manner that is accessible to all audiences and includes comparisons of the state of our climate over the past 2 million years, an abundance of risks across various warming scenarios, and opportunities for sceptics.
The World Resources Institute has released a summary of the report’s top 10 findings, with the three key takeaways for leaders, financiers, and policymakers as follows.
Firstly, emissions must decline by 43% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels, with developed nations needing to hit net zero by 2040. Current national climate pledges are only set to reduce emissions by 7%, leaving a six-fold gap in ambition.
Secondly, 16 GtCO2e per year must be removed by 2050 to compensate for emissions rising at business-as-usual levels. This requires a significant increase in nature-based solutions and carbon removal technologies.
Lastly, 3.6 billion people, primarily in the Global South, are highly vulnerable to climate impacts, with even a temporary overshoot of 1.5 degrees before 2100 causing potentially irreparable damage to nearly half of the world’s population.
The risks posed by climate change are significant, but the potential benefits of transitioning to a sustainable economy offer businesses the chance to unlock massive new revenue streams from ways of ongoing innovation in the tech sector and all across the economy. The time for action is now, with the first movers reaping the greatest rewards.
Access Partnership closely monitors sustainability and climate change developments across the globe, providing industry-leading insight to a range of public and private sector stakeholders. For more information, contact Gordon Mackay at gordon.mackay@accesspartnership.com.
