#9 Adapting to Climate Change Impacts: A Review of the IPCC’s Key Messages

Time to Shift - English Edition

The summer of 2022 was a painful reminder of the destructive impacts that climate change can have on our societies and ecosystems. While Europe saw many of its forests burn to the ground during the hottest summer ever recorded, the world shockingly witnessed how unprecedented floodings in Pakistan almost put the entire country under water.

In line with what climate scientists have been saying for years, the consequences of climate change are already happening today and will likely increase in frequency and intensity as we move towards 1,5o C global warming. So, if this is the grim future awaiting us, surely we must be doing something to prepare for it, right?

This episode will review the key messages of the IPCC’s report on “Climate change 2022: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerabilities”. We will reflect on the impacts on both natural and human systems, such as the loss of biodiversity, food supply and wet-bulb temperature, and address how climate adaptation can make us more resilient – and the remaining homework for the international community to get there.

Links to sources:

Sky News, “Pakistan’s ‘worst-ever’ floods explained” (02.09.2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdJlIWJx12k&ab_channel=SkyNews

IPCC AR6 WG II “Climate change 2022: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerabilities” (February 2022) : https://podcast.ausha.co/time-to-shift-english-edition/7-wood-and-climate-the-carbolympic-flame

IPCC maps on vulnerability, biodiversity, wet-bulb temperatures:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12R7VEVh10jxIwdACSOSmJg7z6yGPM6T1/view?usp=share_link