On 20 March 2023, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published the Synthesis of the 6th Assessment Report. It summarises the key messages from the volumes of the three working groups and the current special reports SR15 (1.5°C global warming), SROCC (ocean and cryosphere) and SRCCL (climate change and land systems). As a reference work, decision-makers around the world will be drawing on the information published by the IPCC in the years ahead. The report leaves no doubt that climate change is in full swing, is already having massive negative impacts today, and that these will continue to grow with every additional tenth of a degree of warming. Current efforts to mitigate climate change fall well short of stabilising the climate at +1.5°C and 2°C.
To communicate the contents of the report in Austria and to once again highlight the urgency of the global situation, CCCA published a press release on the IPCC Synthesis Report on 20 March 2023.
In addition, CCCA, together with the BMK and the Commission on Climate and Air Quality of ÖAW, hosted a symposium on the key messages of the IPCC Synthesis Report on 24 March 2023 in the ceremonial hall of ÖAW in Vienna. Around 100 participants attended in person, with a further 150 joining the dialogue event online; it was moderated by Katrin Brugger (CCCA).
Here you'll find the presentations from the speakers:
- The IPCC (History, Present, Future) - Manfred Ogris | BMK, Austrian IPCC Focal Point
- Synthesis of current knowledge on climate change – Climate risks and how we should deal with them - Hans Otto Pörtner | Alfred Wegener Institut (WG II Co-Chair)
- Synthesis of current knowledge on climate change – The great challenge of a climate-neutral future - Oliver Geden | Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (IPCC Author) (coming soon)
- Bridging the 6th Assessment Report's European findings to the situation in Austria - Birgit Bednar-Friedl | University of Graz (IPCC Author)
- On the progress of the 2nd Austrian Climate Change Assessment Report - Keywan Riahi | Commission on Climate and Air Quality, ÖAW & IIASA (IPCC Author)
Following the presentations, representatives of the Association of the Austrian Citizens' Climate Council discussed the following topic together with Barbara Ruhsmann (ÖGUT):
- "Together for the Climate" – How participatory processes can help shape key and complex questions about our society's future. Interactive insights into the Klimarat, the first nationwide citizens' council in Austria.
Further information and recommendations can be found in the final report: Citizens' Climate Council. Climate neutrality by 2040: The recommendations
Here you'll find the video recordings of the event:
On 9 August 2021, the IPCC published the first instalment of the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). Prepared by 234 authors from IPCC Working Group I, the report entitled "Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis" summarises the current physical understanding of the climate system and climate change, as well as the latest advances in climate science. It provides the most up-to-date findings on warming projections, shows how and why the climate has changed to date, and offers an improved understanding of human influence on the climate (including extreme events). Greater emphasis is placed on regional information that can be used for climate risk assessments.