Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change adopts summary
In Valencia today the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) adopted the Synthesis Report on the 4th Assessment Report. Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Environment Ministry, Michael Müller stated:
"The scientific findings are absolutely clear. We must take swift and decisive action in order to keep climate change at a manageable level. Policy-makers must take up the challenge and send a strong signal at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali: we need a clear mandate for the start of negotiations on a comprehensive climate protection regime based on the Kyoto Protocol. The IPCC has made it clear that we have to reverse the trend by 2015 and has categorically refused to conduct a short-sighted debate on alleged profiteers in individual regions of the world."
The Synthesis Report covers the content of the seperate working group reports of the 4th Assessment Report, published in the first half of 2007. The key messages are:
- Climate change is taking place, the consequences can be felt. Unless we take countermeasures, we are threatened with uncontrollable risks.
- Mankind holds the instruments for mitigating and averting the risks in his hand. Suitable policies and an effective international climate regime can succeed in at least halving greenhouse gas emissions by by 2050 compared to 1990 levels.
For the first time the IPCC clearly names the imminent risks if global warming continues: an increase of 1-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels would seriously jeopardise many unique and endangered ecosystems. If the global temperature increases by more than around 2.5 degrees, 20-30 percent of species worldwide would be in danger of extinction. Furthermore, the polar ice caps would be at risk of melting away, which could lead to a more rapid rise in sea levels over the coming centuries.