Blog: The IPCC 2021 Report is out
When the IPCC Report went live at 8pm last night (NZT) it delivered one of the most sobering moments of 2021, that the planet will see an increase of 1.5 degree before 2040. In its worst case scenario, by 2025. Our only hope, a dramatic reduction in emissions, and fast.
The release of last night’s report occurred at the same time as New Zealand’s state owned enterprise, Transpower declared a ‘grid emergency’ and instructed distribution networks to immediately reduce the load on their networks which cut electricity supplies on one of our coldest winter nights this season. For almost two hours, some regions were plunged into the cold and dark due to insufficient generation to meet New Zealand’s electricity load demands. A timely reminder that as a nation, we are nowhere near prepared for the climate crisis which has firmly knocked on our door.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are an agency of the United Nations, mandated to provide objective scientific information relevant to understanding anthropogenic climate change. The IPCC are the internationally accepted authority on climate change.
Since 1990, the IPCC have embarked on six assessment cycles which include reporting on the latest climate science. The sixth report has brought together over 230 climate scientists, who making a voluntary writing and researching contribution. This report, their most ambitious yet suggests we are only a few years away from irreversible damage.
Since 2019 atmospheric CO2 concentrations were higher than anytime in the last 2million years, global surface temperature has increased faster since 1970 than any other 50 year period, the arctic sea ice was at its lowest level since 1850, and global sea levels have risen faster since 1900 than over any preceding century in the last 300 years. Without a co-ordinated global response to reduce emissions, we will see catastrophic outcomes for the future of earth.
However despite the grim warnings, there are some positives. The pandemic has caused a reduction in some types of emissions, demonstrating that with human intervention we can make a difference. If we reduce our global emissions by half, we are able to reverse some of the damage we’ve done….and to help ensure we still have a healthy planet for future generations.
So, what does this mean for those of us that work in the world of tourism or events? Sustainability planning is no longer a nice to have (yes we’ve been saying this for some time!), understanding your carbon footprint through management and measurement will be a minimum requirement, building knowledge and capability in your team to understand the impacts of the climate crisis, and planning for the rapid warming of the planet over the next 20 years - sea levels rising, more extreme weather events such as storms and cyclones, increasing fires and heatwaves, and significant loss of environment and biodiversity.
Where do you start? For many this is the biggest question. If you are a member or partner of a Regional Tourism Organisation in New Zealand, check their upcoming capability building workshops. Many regions are offering training workshops on sustainability. Get along and learn while its free!
Alternatively, seek assistance from an industry practitioner (like us!) to help you design and develop your sustainability initiatives. We’re from the tourism and events sector so we understand the challenges you face and how to overcome these. Call us or message us for a chat and let us see how we can help you.
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“Here we are, arguably the most intelligent being that's ever-walked planet Earth, with this extraordinary brain...and yet we're destroying the only home we have ” Dr Jane Goodall