IPCC starts work on the 1.5ºC target and 6th Assessment Report

The Paris Agreement of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change says that global temperature increase should be limited to 1.5ºC compared with pre-industrial times. The UN therefore asked the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to provide a special report in 2018 on the impacts of global warming of 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways. The IPCC has now agreed during a meeting in April in Nairobi to prepare a special report on 1.5ºC and will start work this summer with a call for experts to scope the report.

The two accompanying tables show the different probabilities of achieving the 1.5ºC target, and the remaining carbon budgets are calculated according to the IPCC 4th Assessment Report from 2013/2014.

At the 43rd Session of the Panel in Nairobi the IPCC also agreed on a roadmap for the production and delivery of the 6th IPCC Assessment Report (AR6). When drawing up the outlines for AR6 the IPCC decided to pay special attention to the impacts of climate change on cities and their unique adaptation and mitigation challenges and opportunities. Preparations for the main AR6 report, which is expected to be released in three working group contributions in 2020/2021 and a Synthesis Report in 2022, will start later this year. The panel also agreed to prepare two other special reports: on climate change and oceans and the cryosphere; and on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems. These will be produced as early as possible in the AR6 cycle.

Reinhold Pape

In this issue

Ecosystems more sensitive than previously thought

Three-quarters of EU ecosystems are currently exposed to more nitrogen deposition than they can cope with and nearly one-tenth is receiving too much acid fallout.

Sea levels could rise 1.3 to 2 metres by 2100

New studies have been published concluding that sea levels could rise far more rapidly than expected in coming decades.

Land is a crucially important sector to keep global warming below 1.5°C.

A quarter of human induced greenhouse gas emissions comes from agriculture, forestry and other land use.

Tougher air pollution targets needed

Revision of EU’s key legal instrument for improving air quality – the NEC directive – is currently the subject of intense negotiations.

Analysis of the implementation on the Paris Agreement

An analysis on how to translate the Paris agreement into action in a German context.

Stricter air pollution rules for machinery agreed

Emissions from non-road mobile machinery are a significant source of air pollution, especially nitrogen oxides and particulate matter.

Huge health impacts from Balkan coal plants

New study quantifies the public health costs of polluted air from existing coal-fired power plants in the Western Balkans at up to €8.5 billion per year.

More than half US population exposed to dangerous air pollution

A total of 166 million Americans live in areas that have unhealthy levels of either ozone or particle pollution, according to the American Lung Association.

Save lives and costs by cutting GHG

The greenhouse emission cuts that the United States of America agreed to at the Paris climate conference may come with a significant public health benefit.

Big benefits of cleaner marine fuel

Air quality in coastal areas improved significantly in 2015 after stricter sulphur limits for marine fuels were introduced in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.

Baltic Sea and North Sea move towards becoming NOx Emission Control Areas

Significant health and environmental benefits will result from action to cut NOx emissions from international shipping.

Livestock holds major potential for GHG reductions

Policies targeting the livestock sector could potentially reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 1.8 gigatons of CO2 equivalents per year.

Sweden and the climate change performance index

Sweden always scores well for climate policy on the annual scorecard of Climate Action Network Europe and Germanwatch. But for some years this has been more due to luck than to real progress.

Health and climate co-benefits of dietary change

Widespread adoption of a vegetarian diet would significantly cut food-related emissions of greenhouse gases and make people healthier too.

Germany sets its sights on coal phase-out

Coal must be phased-out for Germany to meet its ambitious climate protection goals.

Carbon dioxide levels in atmosphere spike

The annual growth rate of atmospheric carbon dioxide measured at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii jumped by 3.05 parts per million during 2015, the largest year-to-year increase in 56 years of research, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Main menu

IPCC starts work on the 1.5ºC target and 6th Assessment Report

In this issue

Ecosystems more sensitive than previously thought

Sea levels could rise 1.3 to 2 metres by 2100

Land is a crucially important sector to keep global warming below 1.5°C.

Tougher air pollution targets needed

Analysis of the implementation on the Paris Agreement

Stricter air pollution rules for machinery agreed

Huge health impacts from Balkan coal plants

More than half US population exposed to dangerous air pollution

Save lives and costs by cutting GHG

Big benefits of cleaner marine fuel

Baltic Sea and North Sea move towards becoming NOx Emission Control Areas

Livestock holds major potential for GHG reductions

Sweden and the climate change performance index

Health and climate co-benefits of dietary change

Germany sets its sights on coal phase-out

Carbon dioxide levels in atmosphere spike

Publications

Food for Thought

Northern forests, climate change and the UNFCCC

EU climate targets aligned with the Paris agreement’s 1.5°C objective

Baltic Sea Offshore Wind Collaborative-Learning project

Air pollution in Europe and children’s health

Climate Change: A Himalayan Odessey

No further discussion needed. The agreed global goal is to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C

Fossil-free electricity 2021

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