U.N. Report Confirms Grave Threat of Climate Change | Press Release

"The report released today by the United Nations is unequivocal in its findings—climate change presents a grave threat to the health and wellbeing of everything on this planet and will require accelerated action to avoid the loss of life, biodiversity, and infrastructure," said Daniel Bresette, executive director of the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI). "It makes crystal clear that there is an urgent need to cut our greenhouse gas emissions and prepare our communities to withstand the worsening impacts of climate change."

"The bad news is that the report confirms what we already know: we are experiencing more frequent—and more intense—droughts, floods, heatwaves, storms, and wildfires because of the climate crisis," said Bresette. "The worse news is that even small increases in warming can multiply harmful impacts in the future. There is little good news in the report, but that does not mean our situation is hopeless. We have a small window of time to act, so we need to act now."

The report represents the Working Group II contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment, which is released by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The report assesses the current impacts of climate change and what impacts can be expected in the future, as well as the feasibility of different adaptation strategies. As the sixth report to consider these issues, it provides new information on the cascading, compounding, and transboundary risks of climate change. It also emphasizes social justice and equity issues, because low-income communities that contribute the least to climate change are the most vulnerable to climate risks and in the greatest need of adaptation solutions. The report notes that adapting to climate risks can also help meet other important goals, such as reducing poverty, ensuring gender equality, and advancing sustainable development.

Every five to seven years, the IPCC brings together hundreds of the world's leading climate researchers to release three major reports on climate change. These are used by the world's governments to negotiate emission reduction targets and adaptation measures during U.N. climate talks. The first report in the current cycle was released in August 2021, and covered the science behind climate change. It warned that "human influence has warmed the climate at a rate that is unprecedented in at least the last 2000 years." The second IPCC report was released today. The third report, which will look at ways to limit climate change, is expected in April.

IPCC Reports