IPCC Sixth Assessment Report and Climate

It is now or never’ if world is to stave off climate disaster, says The Guardian report on the latest reports from the IPCC. 

What exactly are these reports? The IPCC website says, "The IPCC prepares comprehensive Assessment Reports (AR) about knowledge on climate change, its causes, potential impacts and response options. It adds that "The IPCC also produces Special Reports, which are an assessment on a specific issue and Methodology Reports, which provide practical guidelines."

The latest reports called AR 6 reports are on the following:

• AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2022
• AR6 Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change
• AR6 Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability

The IPCC Working Group II (WGII) assesses the impacts of climate change, from a world-wide to a regional view.

This is what I understood after reading a slew of news reports:

• Substantial reduction of greenhouse gas emissions beyond what governments committed.
• Emissions gap of 14 to 23 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent in commitments by countries.
• Countries like India must focus more on renewable energy than coal.
• Drastic changes in urban planning and biodiversity conservation
• Changes in lifestyles including a reduction in demand of non-essential items

BBC lists five ways to solve the climate crisis. 

But all these measures may help if peace prevails in the world, an alternative to GDP,  which recognizes unbridled material production, is devised, and substantial changes to lifestyle is implemented. 

Otherwise, such reports will just result in newspaper articles, editorials, op-eds, seminars and webinars, fellowships, and grantts. 

In the end, things will remain the same.