IPCC Synthesis Report provides common conclusion about the state of knowledge on climate change

Published 5 November 2014

Photo from UNCCC, CC licence from Flickr

During the past week, 350 delegates from 120 countries have gathered in Copenhagen, to go through and come to a common conclusion about the state of knowledge on climate change. The result was finalized as a synthesis report which states that the human influence on the climate system is clear and recent anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases are the highest in history. But the report also states that there is still time to limit climate change - if we act quickly.

During the past week the IPCC, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, has been gathered to go through and come to a common conclusion about the state of knowledge on climate change; what happens to the climate and what to expect in the future, depending on the emission size and adaptability.

On Sunday the 2nd of November, IPCC's synthesis report was made public. The report summarizes the last three Working Groups reports from 2013-2014. The synthesis report confirms that the human influence on the climate system is clear, and recent anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases are the highest in history. The report also shows that we have the ability to limit the climate change, but it requires substantial and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and that we act quickly. This would, together with adaptation, limit the climate change risks.

The report also shows that it is possible to limit the effects of climate change - but it requires that countries act promptly. IPCC stresses that it is possible to attain the internationally agreed target of keeping the global temperature increase to below two degrees, but it assumes that emissions are severely limited in the coming decades and to zero the year 2100.

Here you will find the IPCC synthesis report "Summary for policymakers", and here you'll find the longer report "Synthesis Report".

MERGE researchers contributing to the IPCC report

Markku Rummukainen, coordinator of MERGE and professor at Lund University/climate researcher at SMHI. Main author of the Working Group 1 report, The Physical Science Basis, within the fifth IPCC report on the climate from, AR5.
Deliang Chen, professor at the University of Gothenburg. Main author of the Working Group 1 report, The Physical Science Basis, within the fifth IPCC report on the climate from, AR5.
Professor Lars Bärring, SMHI, serve as the national IPCC office at SMHI which is the national focal point for IPCC in Sweden. Lars was also representing Sweden in the negotiations of the Synthesis report. See what Lars has to say about the AR5 report here:

Lars Bärring, SMHI, about the IPCC report, AR5.

Climate chat - live Q&A

On November 3 SMHI and the Swedish EPA had a live chat session (Klimatchatt) in connection with the launch of the IPCC Synthesis Report. Experts answered questions about climate and climate change.

Photo from SMHI, experts answering questions about climate and climate change on Nov 3.

MERGE researchers answering questions in the live chat was Markku Rummukainen, Lars Bärring, Patrik Samuelsson and Gustav Strandberg. You can read the questions and answers here (in Swedish).

About the IPCC

The IPCC is the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. During the past week, delegates from the world's nations gathered in Copenhagen to finally accept the IPCC's report on climate change, AR5. The meeting led to a common conclusion about the state of knowledge on climate change. It's about how the climate is changing and how we can combat climate change and impacts. As a starting point, the delegates three reports on climate change by the IPCC published during 2013-2014. The three reports are The Physical Science Basis, Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, and Mitigation of Climate Change.