On Wednesday August 7, 2019, in Geneva, Switzerland, the world’s governments approved the Summary for Policymakers of the Special Report on Climate Change and Land (SRCCL). The SRCLL is the second of three special reports that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is preparing during its current Sixth Assessment Report cycle. The first special report examining Global warming of 1.5oC was approved and released in September 2018, while the third report examining Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate is expected to be released in September 2019.
The Special Report on Climate Change and Land (SRCCL) draws important conclusions which highlight that land is already under growing human pressure and climate change is adding to these pressures. It also notes that keeping global warming to well below 2ºC can be achieved only by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from all sectors including land and food. Other critical themes addressed in the report include Land as a Resource, Desertification and Land Degradation, Food Security, Land and Climate Change Responses.
Four Caribbean scientists were involved in the authorship of this latest IPCC Report. Dr. Adrian Spence (UWI, Jamaica) was a lead author on Chapter 1 (Framing and Context), Dr. Kenel Delusca (Ministry of Environment/ Institute of Science, Technology and Advanced Studies of Haiti, Haiti) was a lead author on Chapter 4 (Land degradation), Dr. Donovan Campbell (UWI, Jamaica) was a lead author on Chapter 6 (Interlinkages between desertification, land degradation, food security and greenhouse gas fluxes), and Professor Nourredine Benkeblia (UWI, Jamaica) was a review editor for Chapter 5 (Food Security). Their involvement highlights the region’s continuing contribution to the global science community examining the pressing issue of climate change. Caribbean scientists were also involved in the already released special report on 1.5 degrees.
For more about the Special Report on Climate Change and Land (SRCCL) including the summary for policy makers, a press release, a summary of headline statements, the complete list of authors, and other resources see https://www.ipcc.ch/report/srccl/.