THE LATEST IPCC REPORT IN 10 POINTS

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A survival guide for humanity*.

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It’s not a bad book title or a new streaming series; it’s what the latest IPCC report represents.

The Synthesis Report published in March summarizes the consequences of climate inaction and proposes solutions to hopefully limit climate change to a manageable level and mitigate the consequences of excessive warming.

We’ve summarized this latest report for you in 10 points, as simply as possible:

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1️⃣ Humans are responsible

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It’s no secret that humans are responsible for global warming. 100% of additional greenhouse gas emissions come from human activities. Most originate from the energy, industry, construction, agriculture, and land-use change sectors.

→ CO2 concentration is at its highest level in 2 million years 😵‍💫

2️⃣ Those who contribute the least to climate change will suffer first

Here is the great injustice of global warming:

The richest 10% are responsible for 50% of GHG emissions

The poorest 50% are responsible for 10% of GHG emissions

Yet, the consequences of global warming (water shortages, food insecurity, etc.) will hit the poorest 50% first 😥

3️⃣ Changes are already visible and irreversible

- Sea levels rose by 20cm between 1901 and 2018 🤯

- We are already seeing ocean warming and acidification, as well as a decrease in frozen areas (the cryosphere)

- Many species have gone extinct (both marine and terrestrial).

4️⃣ Some efforts have paid off, but it’s nowhere near enough

Some efforts have helped start slowing the rate of climate change: agroforestry, agroecology, crop diversification, wetland restoration, urban greening, and more.

6️⃣ Insufficient political commitment

In 2015, the states that signed the Paris Agreement committed to keeping global warming below 1.5°C.

In 2021, the policies actually implemented by states put the world on a trajectory for +2°C of warming

The actions actually taken so far are leading us toward +3.2°C of warming by the end of the century 🥵

7️⃣ Major changes are on the horizon

Every tenth of a degree amplifies the consequences of global warming and extreme weather events: droughts, wildfires, heatwaves, floods... What we are experiencing today is just the beginning 🫠

Other violent changes could occur: permanent collapse of biodiversity, disruption of ocean systems (AMOC), rising sea levels and acidification, and the total melting of ice sheets.

8️⃣ We must end our reliance on fossil fuels, and above all, stop developing new ones

Fossil fuels account for 79% of global CO2 emissions.

Fossil fuels already in operation (not counting EACOP-Tilenga and the Willow Project) are enough on their own to push us past the 1.5°C warming threshold 🫥

Current projects are leading us to an inevitable +2°C of warming.

9️⃣ We need to reach carbon neutrality, and fast

Balancing the greenhouse gas emissions we produce with what the Earth can absorb is ESSENTIAL for our continued survival on this planet.

10️⃣ The money is there, we just need to put it in the right place

One of the main obstacles to climate action is financial resources 💰 Yet, governments have enough money to fund the ecological transition. We just need to decide to redirect budgets toward this priority!

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THE WILLOW PROJECT: THE ARCTIC IN DANGER

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“No more drilling on federal lands. Period. Period. Period. It’s a disaster to do this in the Arctic, a huge disaster.” Joe Biden, February 2020

March 13, 2023: The Biden administration approves the Willow Project.

The project's approval sparked strong reactions among young people, who saw this reversal as a true betrayal.

What is the Willow Project?

One of the largest U.S. oil projects led by the company ConocoPhillips in Alaska. 219 wells spread across 3 drilling sites.

The environmental impact of the project is massive:

❌ 9.2 million metric tons of CO2 per year, or the equivalent of the CO2 emissions from 2 million gasoline-powered vehicles every year.

❌ The northern drilling sites are located near Teshekpuk Lake, the largest lake in the Arctic, which is under serious threat from the risks posed by oil drilling (pollution, leak risks, threats to biodiversity, land alteration, etc.)

❌ The Willow project, as proposed, will require approximately 270 vehicle trips per day for 30 years to operate the wells, according to the project's environmental impact statement.

❌ "According to the IPCC, the world has only 3 years left to stop the exploitation of fossil fuels and limit global warming to sustainable levels."

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