What Is IPCC And Why Are Its Reports On Climate Change Significant?

New Delhi: Last week, on April 4, the United Nations climate panel IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) released its latest assessment report ‘Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change’ and warned about the lack of time to limit climate change. It said, “The negative effects of climate change are worsening much faster than scientists predicted less than a decade ago and the time to limit global warming is running out.” The IPCC in its report called for making drastic emission cuts across all sectors. At the same time, it shared ways to mitigate the climate crisis people are living in.

Also Read: Abundant, Affordable Solutions Exist Across Sectors, Development Doesn’t Have To Be Carbon Intensive: IPCC

What Is IPCC?

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. Created in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the objective of the IPCC is to provide governments at all levels with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies.

Explaining the role of IPCC, Vivek Adhia, India Country Director, Institute for Sustainable Communities, said,

What would you do if you are unwell or feeling sick and a bit uneasy? You would go to a specialist or your physician and seek a clear set of advice in terms of what to do to get your physical health in order. IPCC acts in a very similar manner on climate change and on how the UN works on climate change. It advises governments on the physical science basis of how these extreme weather events are occurring, what are the causes behind it and what is the scale of impact that might come in and then it helps these policymakers to arrive at an informed choice of how they would be looking at the next steps.

The IPCC is an organisation of governments that are members of the United Nations or WMO. The IPCC currently has 195 members.

Also Read: Climate Change Is For Real, Here’s Why We Need To Limit Global Warming And Act Now

How Does IPCC Assess The Impact Of Climate Change?

The IPCC does not conduct its own research, run models or make measurements of climate or weather phenomena. Its role is to assess the scientific, technical and socio-economic literature relevant to understanding climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation. Author teams critically assess all such information from any source that is to be included in the report.

The authors producing the reports are currently grouped in three working groups – Working Group I: the Physical Science Basis; Working Group II: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability; and Working Group III: Mitigation of Climate Change – and the Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (TFI).

Six Assessment Reports have been published so far, the sixth report (AR6) coming in three parts — the first in August 2021, the second in February 2022, and the third on Monday.

Also Read: From Suing Indian Government To Knocking Doors Of The UN, This Teenage Climate Warrior Is Calling To Save The Earth

Why Are IPCC’s Reports Significant?

If you are seeing a doctor who is certified by the Indian Medical Association, you would probably want to believe them rather than just looking at their degrees or the university they have studied from. IPCC being a UN-affiliated body having 195 member countries with a wide repertoire of experts and researchers within its school base and having this robust research and review process makes it one of the most sacrosanct organisation to publish research and evidence on climate change. Generally, the process takes between two to five years to come up with a report. Since it is so comprehensive, it is one of the well-regarded reflections of the way climate change is affecting all of us, said Mr Adhia.

Also Read: We Need To Demand Climate Action & Start Leading A More Sustainable Life: Dia Mirza

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity,  that is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.