IPCC Report Affirms That We Have the Tools to Address the Climate Crisis, but We're Running Out of Time to Act

April 5, 2022 /3BL Media/ - A new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change affirms that we have the tools to address the climate crisis, but we are running out of time to act. It reinforces the urgency of reducing greenhouse gas emissions immediately to mitigate the impact of the climate crisis and details the tools and methods that will help the world limit temperature rise to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, with a warning that we are currently on track to 3 degrees of warming by the end of the century.

“The new IPCC report unequivocally demonstrates that while global leaders have the tools to minimize future irreversible impacts of the climate crisis, we still have to raise our ambition and take the necessary aggressive action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Ceres President and CEO Mindy Lubber. “Droughts, floods, fires, and heatwaves are wreaking havoc across communities and economies, and those damages will only grow without concerted effort to reduce emissions immediately. Inaction, or insufficient action, is no longer an option if we hope to avoid further catastrophic climate disasters.”

“The report affirms what we already knew: we have the technology and the financial resources to successfully transition to a cleaner, healthier, more equitable world with a stable climate,” Lubber said. “And a stable climate will benefit companies, communities, and nations with greater economic strength and increased physical security. We know that policies aimed at reducing emissions work.”

Ceres has long advocated for policies that promote global resilience and spur investment in clean energy and energy efficiency. They will not only help prevent climate disasters and human suffering—but they will also improve energy affordability and security, ensure greater environmental justice and equity, and help U.S. businesses remain competitive around the globe.

“The window to reduce severe suffering and loss is rapidly closing,” Lubber added. “Governments, investors and other financial institutions, and companies are all impacted, and must act immediately if we hope to prevent more suffering — particularly in marginalized communities in the United States and around the world — while preventing further irreversible damage to the world’s ecosystems.”

That is why Ceres is working to decarbonize the full value and supply chains of the heaviest-emitting sectors through the Ceres Ambition 2030 initiative. Through Climate Action 100+, investors have the opportunity and responsibility to help accelerate the business transition toward a net zero emissions economy with some of the world’s highest-emitting companies. It is past time to move from setting targets or making emissions-reduction commitments to rapidly taking action to execute those goals and hold global average temperature rise to a 1.5 degree Celsius limit. To achieve that goal, Ceres, along with its partners, are working with investors around the globe through the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative and the Paris Aligned Investment Initiative.

“We have the tools to reduce the physical and economic impacts of the climate crisis at our fingertips. Investors, companies, policymakers, and regulators have an imperative to take immediate, clear-eyed action to set, and more importantly, execute upon, ambitious emissions reductions,” Lubber said. “Investors and our financial institutions must implement climate action plans that will rapidly redirect flows of money toward clean energy solutions, rather than fossil fuels. We have the global capital needed to reach our critical climate goals, but we need to ensure that financing flows to the right places.”

About Ceres

Ceres is a nonprofit organization working with the most influential capital market leaders to solve the world’s greatest sustainability challenges. Through our powerful networks and global collaborations of investors, companies and nonprofits, we drive action and inspire equitable market-based and policy solutions throughout the economy to build a just and sustainable future. For more information, visit ceres.org and follow @CeresNews.

Media Contact: Mara Abbott, mabbott@ceres.org, 617-247-0700 ext. 250