14 Mar 2022, 15:00
  • Milou
    Dirkx
    Milou Dirkx is Journalism Network Manager at Clean Energy Wire. She is the first point of contact for the members of the CLEW Journalism Network, and develops events and other opportunities for climate and energy reporters to engage.

Global reporting on new IPCC report: Securing a liveable and sustainable future for all

© Carel Mohn
In a report published by the IPCC two weeks ago, 270 scientists from 67 countries reviewed more than 34,000 articles to assess the effects of climate change, the vulnerability of socio-economic and natural systems and the options for adaptation. Their findings paint a bleak picture: the effects of climate change are appearing much faster than scientists anticipated and are more severe and prevalent. The report concludes that any further delay in global action on mitigation and adaptation "will miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all." Journalists play an instrumental role in communicating these findings to a wider audience. To better understand this report and its regional implications, we have asked our global network of climate journalists to share their coverage. Check out their work below in eight languages, sorted by region.

Reporting on Africa

Ghana must take sustainable steps to ensure food security – IPCC
By Albert Oppong-Ansah for Ghana News Agency [English]
"According to the report by the IPCC’s Working Group II on climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability, agriculture production on the continent slowed by 34 per cent. Commenting on the Findings, Dr Shaibu Baanni Azumah, an Agriculture Economist, told the Ghana News Agency that climate change impacts, which had been aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, were real in Ghana and the whole of Africa and had dire implications on food systems and the economies too. African leaders, he noted, had not prioritised measures to ameliorate the impact of climate vulnerability."

Reporting on Asia

Mumbai's Coastal Road may prove 'maladaptive' for climate change: IPCC
By Vaishnavi Chandrashekhar for The Times of India [English]
"That gap is especially important for coastal cities in Asia, where large populations are at risk from increased flooding due to rising seas and storms, and will also bear the brunt of reduced fish catch in warming seas. Asia hosts 13 of the 20 largest coastal cities expected to have the highest flood losses by 2050, including Guanghou, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, and Bangkok."

IPCC: Getting climate adaptation right. What's in the landmark report for South Asia
By Lou del Bello for her newsletter Lights On [English]
"The planet is already on track for a virtually unavoidable 1.5C of warming by the end of the century, which in Asia translates to threats ranging from glacier melt (and its ramifications for the hydrology of the entire Himalayan region) to an increase in the spread of vector- and water-borne diseases. More frequent and severe summer heatwaves will affect food production, also putting a strain on energy systems as more people crank up fans and air conditioners."

Reporting on Europe

UN climate scientists warn window for mitigation is closing - Reactions from Germany
By Kerstine Appunn and Paul Gordon for Clean Energy Wire [English]
"German environment minister Steffi Lemke said that “independence from fossil fuel imports and climate action are more urgent tasks than ever” and that the government would seriously tackle climate change adaptation. Environmental NGOs called on G7 countries to accelerate the roll-out of renewable energies and abolish climate-damaging subsidies."

Hasta 8.000 personas podrán morir cada año en España debido al calor extremo
Up to 8,000 people may die every year in Spain due to extreme heat.
By Marta Montojo for EFE:Verde [Spanish]

 "El número de personas que morirán anualmente por el calor extremo en España pasará de unas 1.500 a hasta 8.000 en 2050 si las emisiones se mantienen en niveles altos, según un estudio citado en el nuevo informe sobre impactos, adaptación y vulnerabilidad climática de la ONU."

Der IPCC zeigt der Menschheit Lösungen auf
The IPCC points to solutions for humanity
By Susanne Ehlerding for Tagesspiegel [German]

"Aus reiner Nützlichkeit gewinnen Sonnen- und Windenergie auf einmal den Stellenwert, den sie verdienen. „Freiheitsenergien“ nannte sie Finanzminister Christian Lindner (FDP). Es folgten Stoßseufzer der Erleichterung unter den Freunden der Erneuerbaren in den sozialen Netzwerken. Endlich, endlich war die Botschaft angekommen: dass uns die erneuerbaren Energien nicht nur vor Schäden durch Klimagase bewahren, sondern auch unabhängig von Schurkenstaaten machen."

Reporting on the Mediterranean region

La lotta al climate change deve fare i conti con i nazionalismi e i conflitti
Fighting climate change has to deal with nationalism and conflict
By Elena Comelli for Il Sore 24 Ore [Italian]

"Il rapporto, basato su una sintesi di 34.000 articoli scientifici, si suddivide in analisi regionali e per la prima volta c'è un focus specifico sul Mediterraneo. «La regione mediterranea si è riscaldata e continuerà a riscaldarsi maggiormente della media globale, particolarmente in estate. Questo vale sia per l'ambiente terrestre che per quello marino, sia per le temperature medie che per le ondate di calore», spiega Piero Lionello, professore all'università del Salento ed esperto del Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici, fra gli autori principali del rapporto."

IPCC: la finestra temporale per fermare i cambiamenti climatici si sta chiudendo
IPCC: time window to stop climate change is closing
By Rudi Bressa for le Scienze [Italian] – behind a paywall
"La nuova pubblicazione dell'Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change parla chiaro. Il cambiamento climatico sta già colpendo la società e i sistemi naturali e agricoli, e il Mediterraneo è tra le aree più esposte."

IPCC: La productividad agrícola en la región mediterránea podrá caer un 17 %
IPCC: Agricultural productivity in the Mediterranean region could fall by 17%.
By Marta Montojo for EFE:Verde [Spanish]

"El documento prevé una reducción de las aportaciones hídricas en la cuenca Mediterránea de entre un 4 y un 8 %, un riesgo que será inevitable “con acciones o sin ellas”, asevera en rueda de prensa Jofre Carnicer, uno de los 270 autores del informe -científicos de 67 países diferentes- y especialista en impactos climáticos en el Mediterráneo."

Reporting on Latin America

IPCC report: Effects of climate crisis will deepen in Latin America
By Fermín Koop for Diálogo Chino [English, you can find the Portuguese version here and the Spanish version here]
"Extreme precipitation events, which result in floods, landslides and droughts, are projected to intensify in magnitude and frequency due to climate change. A 1.5C increase would result in an increase of up to 200% in the populations affected by floods in Colombia, Brazil and Argentina, 300% in Ecuador and 400% in Peru."

Experto del IPCC: «Cada retraso cierra un poco más la ventana de oportunidad para asegurar un mundo vivible»
IPCC expert: "Every delay closes the window of opportunity to ensure a liveable world a little more".
By Marta Montojo for EFE:Verde [Spanish]

"América Latina es una de las regiones más vulnerables a esos riesgos, según el informe, no solo por su exposición a los impactos -con un alto nivel de crecimiento urbano “informal” y una población muy concentrada en la costa, entre otros muchos factores-  sino también por la mayor dificultad que encuentra para adaptarse y paliar los daños."

El saber indígena latinoamericano favorece la adaptación al cambio climático
Latin American indigenous knowledge favours adaptation to climate change
By Marta Montojo for EFE:Verde [Spanish]
"Los programas basados en los saberes indígenas han ayudado a impulsar la “adaptación transformadora” frente a la crisis climática en Latinoamérica, un continente “altamente expuesto, vulnerable y fuertemente impactado” por los efectos del calentamiento."

El nuevo informe del Cambio climático alerta de más inundaciones, sequías y enfermedades en Argentina
New Climate Change report warns of more floods, droughts and disease in Argentina
By Marina Aizen for elDiarioAR; recommended by Emilio Godoy, CLEW’s LATAM ambassador [Spanish]

"América latina ya es testigo de impactos irreversibles del cambio climático. Uno de ellos, es la extinción de la rana dorada de los bosques nubosos de Costa Rica. La especie no se ha visto desde los años 90, cuando un evento de sequía terminó con las últimas poblaciones. Esto es solo una advertencia sobre lo que puede pasar con otras formas de vida, de la que dependemos, aunque encerrados en grandes urbes, no nos demos cuenta."

Reporting on the global context

IPCC report is ‘blueprint for a future on the planet’
By Catherine Early for China Dialogue [English, find the Chinese translation here]
"The IPCC warns that options for adaptation narrow and could become impossible as the world becomes warmer. There is a “rapidly narrowing window of opportunity” for some regions and sub-regions if temperature rise exceeds 2C, particularly for areas where climate impacts and risks are already advanced, including low-lying coastal cities, small islands, deserts, mountains and polar regions. High levels of poverty, water, food and energy insecurity, vulnerable urban environments, degraded ecosystems, and rural environments further inhibit the chances."

Governments are failing to act fast enough on climate adaptation, warns international panel of scientists
By Catherine Early for the Global Government Forum [English]
"Agriculture, fisheries, forestry, tourism and labour productivity of outdoor workers are all being affected, reducing short-term economic growth. Extreme weather and associated food insecurity are already driving people from their homes, and worsening conflict in some cases, and diseases are becoming more common and are spreading into new areas, the report added. The IPCC is clear that time is running out. “Any further delay in concerted global action will miss a brief and rapidly closing window to secure a liveable future,” it said."

IPCC report shows 3 billion people already affected by climate change
By Catherine Early for Your Weather [English]
"However, the ability of countries to adapt, especially in the poorest regions, is constrained by a lack of finance. G20 countries have failed to provide the $US100 billion they promised to help developing nations deal with climate change. The finance is meant to go towards projects to cut emissions and those designed to improve resilience to extreme weather, but 75% goes to emissions reduction, the report states."

Opinion: Time to rethink climate adaptation
By Heather Moore for Deutsche Welle [English]
"Yet the report is also optimistic that the transformational societal change necessary to combat climate catastrophe is possible. Until now, contemporary solutions to the ecological crisis have not sought to rethink the over-consumption models in which economic growth is a primary driver. And that is problematic considering the established systems of production and consumption are the reason there is a climate crisis in the first place."

Cities Are Unlikely Yet Powerful Weapons to Fight Climate Change
By Matt Simon for WIRED; recommended by Eric Niiler, one of CLEW’s U.S. ambassadors [English]
"But while the world is changing fast, if there’s a silver lining to the report, it’s that cities can change fast, too. “It's been understood for a long time that climate risks don't just depend on how much climate change we get—they also depend on how vulnerable society is,” says Brian O’Neill, a coordinating lead author of the report and director of the Joint Global Change Research Institute, a partnership between the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of Maryland. Rapidly growing urban areas can be designed to protect residents from a warmer world, and to make sure disadvantaged groups aren’t left out. Cities don't have to be victims of climate change. They can become the crucibles that forge resilience against it."

Expertos presentan una guía para aminorar el desastre climático
Experts present guide to mitigate climate disaster
By Arturo Contreras for Pie de Página [Spanish]
"Globalmente la población urbana ha crecido en más de 397 millones de personas entre 2015 y 2020 (lo equivalente a 21 veces la población de la megalópolis del Valle de México). Más del 90 por ciento de este crecimiento se ha dado en las regiones con menor grado de desarrollo, creando asentamientos informales y sin planeación, que son los más propensos a sufrir los nuevos embates climáticos."

Aún no es demasiado tarde para actuar ante la crisis climática. «Hay un rayito de esperanza»
It is not too late to act on the climate crisis. "There is a glimmer of hope".
By Arturo Contreras for Pie de Página [Spanish]
"“Ciertamente (el informe) es alarmante”. Dice con seguridad Debora Ley en una entrevista por videollamada. “La parte de la que hablamos nosotros como autores de que no todo es gloom and doom (fatal y pesimista) es que hay una ventana, muy pequeña, de que todavía podemos tomar opciones”. "

Casi la mitad de la población mundial es “altamente vulnerable” a un cambio climático que ha causado ya daños generalizados
Nearly half of the world's population is "highly vulnerable" to climate change that has already caused widespread damage.
By Manuel Planelles for El País; recommended by Emilio Godoy, CLEW’s LATAM ambassador [Spanish]

"Pero este estudio no es solo un recuento de los daños producidos ya, también plantea escenarios de futuro en función del nivel de calentamiento al que se llegue, algo que todavía está en manos del ser humano. Las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero expulsadas por el hombre desde la Revolución Industrial, cuando comienza el uso masivo de combustibles fósiles, han llevado ya hasta un calentamiento medio de 1,1 grados respecto a los niveles preindustriales. Y el planeta se encamina en el corto plazo hacia los 1,5. “Cada décima de grado de aumento incrementa los impactos”, apunta José Manuel Moreno, catedrático de Ecología y otro de los autores que han participado en el informe. Por ejemplo, el IPCC advierte de que a medida que la Tierra se calienta, la disponibilidad de agua dulce se reduce; si se llegase hasta los 4 grados, esa pérdida de agua se multiplicaría por dos. Algo parecido ocurre con los daños generados por las inundaciones: los impactos debidos a ese fenómeno extremo se multiplicarán hasta por 3,9 veces si el calentamiento llega hasta los 3 grados respecto a lo que ocurriría en un escenario de 1,5 grados."

Casi la mitad de las especies terrestres puede extinguirse por el cambio climático
Nearly half of all terrestrial species could become extinct due to climate change
By Marta Montojo for EFE:Verde [Spanish]

"El IPCC también resalta la desigualdad en cuanto a capacidad de resistir los efectos del cambio climático e indica, por ejemplo, que entre 2010-2020, «la mortalidad humana por inundaciones, sequías y tormentas fue 15 veces mayor en las regiones altamente vulnerables, en comparación con las regiones de muy baja vulnerabilidad»."

Gli scienziati Onu: il climate change minaccia la vita di miliardi di persone
UN scientists: climate change threatens the lives of billions of people
By Gianluca Di Donfrancesco for Il Sore 24 Ore [Italian]

"Il panel Ipcc lancia l’allarme sull’aumento delle temperature causato dall’uomo: effetti irreversibili. Guterres: «Criminale il ritardo dei leader mondiali»"

Nuovo report IPCC: l’adattamento non tiene il passo con gli impatti del clima
New IPCC report: Adaptation is not keeping pace with climate impacts
By Emanuele Bampon for Renewable Matter [Italian]
"“Questo rapporto sottolinea l’interdipendenza tra clima e società, legando con a doppio nodo le scienze climatiche, a quelle sociale ed economiche”, lancia l’allarme Serena Giacomin, presidente di Italian Climate Network, che dà una chiara interpretazione del report."

La rimozione del clima
The removal of climate
By Daniele Passeri for il manifesto [Italian] – Behind a paywall
"«Servono urgenti e radicali investimenti per opere di adattamento, di pari passo agli interventi sul fronte della mitigazione. Ogni ritardo significa morte, soprattutto nei paesi più fragili. Sono i paesi del G20 a dover indicare la strada», ha (Il segretario generale delle Nazioni Unite António Guterres) detto ieri intervenendo alla presentazione del Rapporto."

Das Zeitfenster für eine lebenswerte Zukunft trotz Klimakrise schließt sich
The window of opportunity for a future worth living despite the climate crisis is closing
By Susanne Ehlerding for Tagesspiegel [German]

"In den Staaten, die als globale Hotspots für ein hohes Risiko identifiziert wurden, leben 3,3 bis 3,6 Milliarden Menschen, sagte der koordinierende Leitautor für das Kapitel „Armut, Existenzgrundlagen und nachhaltige Entwicklung“, Jörn Birkmann.. Gar nicht verwundbar seien nur etwa halb so viele Menschen."

Le Giec esquisse un sombre avenir
The IPCC sketches a bleak future
By Valéry Laramée de Tannenberg fo
r L'Usine à Ges [French] – Behind a paywall
"L’occasion de rappeler que nos émissions croissantes de gaz à eVet de serre (Ges) ont fait grimper la température moyenne globale de +1,1 °C par rapport à celle mesurée à la Sn du XIX siècle. Un phénomène extrêmement rapide. Durant la dernière période interglaciaire, pareil réchauVement ne s’opérait qu’à l’échelle du millénaire !"

IPCC-raportti välittää hälyttävän viestin ilmastokriisistä: Aikaikkuna korjausliikkeelle on sulkeutumassa – ihmiskunnan nykyinen elämäntapa on uhattuna
The IPCC report sends an alarming message about the climate crisis: the window of opportunity for a remedy is closing - humanity's current way of life is under threat
By Helsingin Sanomat; recommended by Helena Raunio, CLEW's Scandinavian ambassador [Finnish]
"Konkreettisten toimien lisäksi kestävä yhteiskunta vaatii raportin mukaan kulttuurista muutosta: uudenlaisten perusarvojen, maailmankuvan ja ideologioiden omaksumista ja sosiaalisten, poliittisten ja taloudellisten järjestelmien panemista uusiksi. Siihen puolestaan tarvitaan suomalaisille tuttuja peruspilareita: universaalia terveydenhuoltoa, sosiaaliturvaa ja koulutusta."

Atlas človeškega trpljenja
Atlas of human suffering
By Andreja Kutin for Večer; recommended by Simona Drevensek, CLEW’s Eastern European ambassador [Slovenian]
"Hoesung Lee, predsednik IPCC, je jasen: "Tveganja za naš planet še niso bila večja. Podnebne spremembe so grob našega zdravega planeta in pokažejo tudi, kako se narava odziva in kdo je najbolj izpostavljen." Med slednjimi so predvsem mesta, kjer bo po napovedih kmalu živela več kot polovica človeštva."

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