The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will open the Second-Order Draft of the Working Group II contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) government and expert review next week, as preparations for the flagship report continue to advance.
The review runs from December 4, 2020 to midnight Central European Time on January 29, 2021. Registration for experts opened on November 27 and will be possible until midnight CET on January 22.
The Working Group II contribution to AR6, “Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability”, will cover the impacts of climate change on human and natural systems, their vulnerabilities and the capacities they have to adapt to climate change. It will also cover options for creating a sustainable future for all through an equitable and integrated approach to adaptation efforts at all scales, linking to the assessment of climate mitigation options by Working Group III.
“Given current events and the increasing urgency to build back better after COVID-19, we anticipate that there will be great interest in several areas of our report such as the health chapter and the chapters on ecosystems, food, water, cities and climate-resilient development,” said Hans-Otto Pörtner, Co-Chair of Working Group II.
“Furthermore, our report focuses on regional climate change impacts and adaptation options that will be relevant for local and regional decision-makers around the globe,” he added.
This version of the report includes the first drafts of the Summary for Policymakers as well as the Technical Summary and the WGII Global to Regional Atlas. All content builds on the First-Order Draft and the expert review comments submitted on this draft. Working Group II undertook a set of virtual meetings in August 2020 with the participation of over 250 experts to advance work on the report amid the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our authors worked day and night under difficult circumstances to finalise the Second-Order Draft on time. Now, we ask all experts, stakeholders and decision makers to participate in this review process,” said Debra Roberts, Co-Chair of Working Group II.
“We especially invite experts, practitioners and policymakers from the global South for their views on the draft to ensure that the assessment is reflective of the needs and concerns of individuals, communities, and public and private sector institutions around the world. Only in this way will we be able to identify a sufficiently diverse range of solutions options to help us adapt to climate change in an equitable and sustainable manner,” she said.
The agreed outline of the report can be found here. The list of authors of the report can be found here.
The review of drafts is an essential part of the IPCC process, helping ensure that a report provides a balanced and comprehensive assessment of the latest scientific findings.
