Report Fatigue - Commentary From A Climate Scientist On The Latest IPCC Summary

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued its Summary for Policymakers this week. It captured the analyses of Working Group I to the 6th Assessment Report. I had a chance to review it on Monday, and it says all of the things that I expected it to say and with the necessary sense of urgency. Here’s the problem. I am “report fatigued.” We need action.

The report stated that it is unequivocal that human influenced has warmed the land, ocean, and atmosphere. It also used strong words of certainty and convincing graphics to make the case for anthropogenic factors related to increased temperatures, sea level rise, Arctic sea ice loss, stronger tropical cyclones, intense rainfall, drought, and so on. As a scientist, I absolutely understand the necessity of these periodic reports. Rigorous, peer-reviewed scientific assessments are needed in the same way that the Food and Drug Administration boosts our confidence in vaccines and other drugs. Twitter theories and “personal research on Google” does not cut it when the fate of our planet is at stake.

If you are interested in what the latest IPCC Summary says, you can find numerous articles about the report with a quick Internet search or visit the IPCC report website. My intention herein is not to write another article highlighting what many of us have warned about for years. We are living climate change. It is not about polar bears or the year 2100. It is about household kitchen table issues, equity, justice, national security, energy, water, and public health.

I admit it. I have report fatigue so this commentary may border on a slight rant. There will be a burst of coverage this week, some Twitter squabbles about minutia, and the various narratives will come from respective corners. Things will relax back to pre-report release, and then the next report will inevitably be released by the National Climate Assessment, some IPCC committee, a Professional Society, or a National Academies study. The reports have essentially said the same thing for the last decade but with an increasing sense of urgency and confidence. Over time, our scientific understanding, models, and observations get better. The Earth is also giving us pretty clear signals with the extreme weather events, oceanic changes, and other responses.

As we move forward, I hope to see more focus on:

• Actionable policy discussions centered on the solutions space and not stifled by 2,4, or 6-year political cycles.
• Realistic timetables and planning for transitioning to a renewable energy economy.
• Local, state, regional, national, and international efforts to address the disproportionate burden that will fall upon vulnerable, poor, and marginalized populations.
• Media coverage on a routine basis rather than for episodic events like the release of an IPCC report or the U.S. leaving the Paris Agreement. There is a climate change related story of relevance almost every day about the economy, health, national security, infrastructure, justice, transportation, agriculture, and so on.
• Integration of climate into non-traditional arenas like faith-based communities, schools, non-science agencies, and community organizations.
• An Apollo- or Manhattan-Project level initiative to address climate change, solutions, and equity issues.

To be fair, I know some of these things are happening but not with the urgency needed. A big takeaway for me, an actual climate scientist, from the latest IPCC Summary is that many things are happening as predicted decades ago or on faster time scales than can be explained by natural variability alone. The virus of climate change is here. It is spreading, mutating, and anchoring within our society for the long haul. We need a vaccine right now.