Toronto, Feb. 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WWF-Canada calls on world leaders to deliver on their climate promises and heed the alarm bells raised by today’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, which included the starkest warning yet on the catastrophic effects humanity and the natural world could face from climate change.
The report, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, shows that the pace and scale of climate impacts is accelerating rapidly, bringing devastating consequences and outpacing current actions to address them. This acceleration has been evident in Canada, where increasingly frequent and severe fires and floods have wreaked havoc on ecosystems and communities.
But there is still an opportunity to avoid the worst impacts on nature and people—it starts with countries drastically slashing emissions and investing in resilience for ecosystems and communities. Nature-based solutions, such as protecting and restoring ecosystems that absorb and store carbon and water, can help do both.
In reaction to this report, Simon J. Mitchell, Vice President Resilient Habitats at WWF-Canada said:
"Because of the changing climate, Canadians have experienced increased frequency and intensity of floods, droughts, fires, and storms, bringing significant negative impacts for wildlife, habitats, people and communities. As overwhelming as these impacts are, and as worrisome as predictions for the future can be, there is still much we can do to limit the frequency and severity of these climate impacts and help ecosystems and communities adapt.
Alongside decarbonization, nature is our ally and can be crucial buffer if we restore and steward it properly. By restoring river edges with trees and vegetation, water can be kept cool and sediment free, while providing valuable habitat species at risk. Similarly, restoring and protecting wetlands can help keep carbon stored in soils and vegetation, and can soak up excess water like a sponge, preventing flooding after significant rain events.
Canadians, especially government leaders, must heed the warnings in this report and deliver on their climate promises with increased investment to build resilience, while slashing emissions to give adaptation a fighting chance.”
Notes for editors:
1. The IPCC Working Group II report - Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability Summary for Policymakers - will be released on 28 February 2022 at 12pm CET. The press conference will be streamed live on the IPCC’s YouTube channel.
2. The IPCC is the UN body for assessing the science related to climate change. It provides political leaders with periodic scientific assessments concerning climate change, its implications and risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation strategies.
3. The Working Group II report is the second of four parts of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). The Working Group I report (physical science of climate change) was released in August 2021, while the Working Group III report (mitigation of climate change) will be released in April 2022. The Synthesis Report which brings together information from all three working group reports will be released in October 2022.
