Following the publication of the report of Working Group I last August, the report of Working Group II of the Interngovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was published on Monday the 28th of February. This paper evaluates the vulnerability of natural and socio-economic systems, the impacts of changes and adaptation options.
The report prepared by the Working Group II aims to offer the general framework relating to the most recent scientific knowledge on the impacts of climate change on socio-economic and natural systems. Furthermore, the report assesses these impacts taking into account the vulnerability and adaptability of singular systems. The impacts, in fact, change in accordance with these two aspects.
First of all, systems are not all vulnerable and susceptible in the same way: the report highlights how the most vulnerable are actually those exposed the most to the impacts of climate change and at the same time those with the least resources to deal with them. Secondly, the impacts vary depending on whether adaptation policies have been implemented or not.
Given the ineffectiveness and irreversibility of the negatives of climate change, which are already developing, it is necessary to implement policies for their mitigation. Therefore, the building of climate resilience is fundamental: socio-economic systems must develop the capacity to alleviate the impacts of climate change without being destroyed by them, in order to be able to live with them. The report shows that what has been done so far is not enough, and that, above all, the need for strong and structured actions is even more pressing than previously assessed. Adaptation to climate change is in fact a priority that must be pursued hand in hand with its mitigation, aimed at cutting emissions.
This report, written by 270 authors from 67 countries, is based on the evaluation of 34,000 scientific publications.
The document communicates the need to act with urgency and determination. The impacts of climate change are already visible and critical, particularly in Africa, South Asia, small island countries, Central and South America. However, the events that have recently impacted Germany, the United States and Canada are proof that no country is safe.
The main conclusions are the following:
- there are irreversible impacts, even in the scenario in which the temperature is kept below 1.5 °;
- any further increase in temperature, even small, entails an increase in risks;
- the impacts are magnified in cities, where most of the world's population is concentrated. However, it is also underlined that cities constitute a precious opportunity for the development of mitigation and adaptation policies;
- there is a growing gap between the necessary actions and those implemented, a gap that is more significant for the poorest populations.
On the other hand, the report provides solutions to tackle these challenges, and highlights their multiple benefits. In addition, it warns of the present and future consequences of inaction. Using very strong words, UN President António Guterres states: "delay means death".
The novelties of this IPCC publication are a strong focus at the regional level, and on indigenous and local communities, considered fundamental for the implementation of effective policies. In particular, for the first time together with the report the following documents are published:
- an atlas on the impacts from the global to the regional scale
- fact sheets for single global regions, to which one for biodiversity and one for human settlements are added. These sheets summarize the main results relating to the regions considered and the two topics mentioned.
The publication of the contribution of Working Group III, relating to the mitigation of climate change, is scheduled for April 2022.
To learn more:
Report of the Working Group II: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
and relative summary for policymakers and non expert public: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability - Summary for policy markers
Press conference for the presentation of the report (in English)
Focal Point IPCC for Italy (in Italian)
Presentation of the report in Italian
Synthesis of the report in Italian (Associazione A Sud)
To keep up-to-date: