Global Warming of 1.5°C: An IPCC Special Report

This report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlights the numerous climate change impacts that could be avoided by limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, compared to 2° or more. Doing so would require a concerted and coordinated global response to climate change, but would have significant mitigating effects on rising sea levels, Arctic ice melt, coral reef declines, and more. The authors argue that limiting global warming would “give people and ecosystems more room to adapt and remain below relevant risk thresholds,” reducing the challenging impacts on human health and well-being and making it easier to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and eradicate poverty. The report outlines mitigation pathways that are consistent with limiting global warming, and describes the implications for transitions in energy, land use, and sustainable development. It also examines synergies and trade-offs of adaptation and mitigation options with sustainable development and the SDGs. The full report is comprehensive and quite technical; users may find the summary brief for policymakers to be a good starting point to understand these critical issues. The report’s chapters and supplemental materials are available to download individually and chapter five, “Sustainable Development, Poverty Eradication and Reducing Inequalities,” may be of particular interest to students and teachers of global health.

The report was prepared by a large international team of contributors in response to an invitation from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) when it adopted the Paris Agreement in 2015. It is expected to be a key scientific input into the Katowice Climate Change Conference in Poland in December 2018, when governments review the Paris Agreement. The IPCC, established by the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization, is the U.N. body responsible for assessing the science related to climate change. It was founded in 1988 to provide policymakers with regular scientific assessments concerning climate change, its implications and future risks, and strategies for mitigation and adaptation.