The viability of humanity living within planetary boundaries rests on the actions we take in the next seven years. There’s no time to lose to keep to the target of limiting the global average temperature to below 1.5°C.

“There is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all.”

This is the conclusion of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its latest report, which sets out to summarize the scientific data on global temperature rises, fossil fuel emissions and the impact of the climate crisis.

The AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023 finds that, despite progress in policies and legislation around climate mitigation since the previous such report in 2014, it’s “likely that warming will exceed 1.5°C during the 21st century”.

This is based on the expected levels of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the atmosphere by 2030, based on all countries’ climate targets – known as nationally determined contributions or “NDCs” – announced as of October 2021.

Limiting warming to “well below 2°C”, by 2030, as per the Paris Agreement targets, will be hard to achieve, but avoiding 1.5°C is still possible.

The report also lays out the economic imperative for taking action, finding that the “global economic benefit of limiting global warming to 2°C exceeds the cost of mitigation in most of the assessed literature”.

Here’s what you need to know about the latest IPCC report, its findings and what needs to happen to ensure we stay on track to meet climate goals.

How is this IPCC report different from previous ones?

The Synthesis Report (SYR) is the culmination of a cycle of reports (the Sixth Assessment) that have been published over the past five years.

Since the Fifth Assessment Report cycle, which ended in 2014, there has been an intensified focus around the globe on the climate crisis and efforts to mitigate its impacts, with the annual Conference of the Parties (COP) meetings driving this progress.

This report is the summary of all reports of the IPCC’s 6th Assessment Cycle that were published between 2018 and 2023, which covered, including the landmark Global Warming of 1.5°C, the more recent reports demonstrating how anthropogenic greenhouse gases are causing unprecedented damage, and the report demonstrating that at current levels, many parts of the planet will become unliveable in the next few decades.

This summary report demonstrates an undeniable scientific consensus about the urgency of the climate crisis, its primary causes, its current devastating impacts – especially on most climate vulnerable regions – and the irreversible harm that will occur if warming surpasses 1.5°C, even temporarily.

Its aim is to provide policymakers with a high-level, up-to-date understanding of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and highlight solutions and options for addressing it.

As the next cycle, the Seventh Assessment Report, is not expected before at least 2027, this report provides the foundation for what will be a critical seven-year period to 2030.

We’re not going to have this time again, where we know what the situation is so conclusively. This scientific consensus, combined with the fact that the majority of climate solutions to avoid the worst consequences of climate change exist, provides a unique opportunity for us to address the gaps and take action.

What are the main findings of the AR6 report?

The new report, written by 39 scientists, is separated into three sections arranged by timeframes: Current Status and Trends looks back through history to the present day; Long-term Climate and Development Futures projects scenarios to 2100 and beyond; and Near-term Responses in a Changing Climate looks at current international policy timeframes between now and the 2030s.

Here are some of the main findings:

• Human-caused climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe – with widespread loss and damage to both nature and people.
  GHG emissions will lead to increasing global warming in the near term, and it’s likely this will reach 1.5°C between 2030 and 2035.
• We are currently at around 1.1°C of warming and current climate policies are projected to increase global warming by 3.2°C by 2100.
• The IPCC has “very high confidence” that the risks and adverse impacts from climate change will escalate with increasing global warming.
• To keep within the 1.5°C limit, emissions need to be reduced by at least 43% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels, and at least 60% by 2035. This is the decisive decade to make that happen.
• Losses and damages will disproportionately affect the poorest and most vulnerable populations, particularly those in Africa and least-developed countries, creating more poverty.
• Prioritizing equity, social justice, inclusion and just transition processes would enable ambitious climate mitigation actions and climate-resilient development.
• Tracked climate finance for mitigation falls short of the levels needed to limit warming to below 2°C or to 1.5°C across all sectors and regions.
• Public and private finance flows for fossil fuels are still greater than those for climate adaptation and mitigation.
• Among other measures to ensure energy systems are net-zero CO2 emitters, we need a “substantial reduction in overall fossil fuel use, minimal use of unabated fossil fuels, and use of carbon capture and storage in the remaining fossil fuel systems; energy conservation and efficiency; and greater integration across the energy system”.

Why do we need to listen to the IPCC?

The IPCC is the United Nations’ (UN) global organization for assessing the science related to climate change and is made up of 195 member countries.

Thousands of experts from all over the world volunteer to objectively assess the latest scientific research and write reports for the IPCC, which are signed off by the governments of member countries.

Over the course of a week-long session held in Switzerland, the 58th Session of the IPCC, governments have approved the shorter Summary for Policymakers of the Synthesis Report line by line and have adopted the longer report.

This will then shape international climate change negotiations at the future COP meetings – the decision-making body of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.