Release of Report of IPCC Working Group III

Today, 31st March 2014, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued a report stating that the effects of climate change are already being experienced around the world. This report, entitled Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability comes from Working Group II of the IPCC and details the impacts of climate change to date, the future risks from a changing climate, and the opportunities for effective action to reduce risks.

It comes six months after the report of IPCC Working Group I, Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis, which states that warming in the climate system is unequivocal and human influence on the climate system is clear.

The UK has set a world leading emission reduction target of 80% by 2050 in a bid to address the present and growing threat of climate change. The UK Carbon Capture and Storage Research Centre (UKCCSRC) leads and coordinates a programme of CCS research  – a technology which is imperative for the UK to reach these emission reduction targets.

The IPCC Working Group III report will be released in April 2014 and the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report cycle will conclude in October 2014 with the publication of its Synthesis Report. These reports will no doubt inform the high-level climate summit being hosted by the Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, at the United Nations in September; an event it is hoped will start to help build momentum for negotiations for a global climate deal in Paris next year.