The All4TheGreen – Mobilizing Climate Science event in Bologna, February 26th, marked the IPCC’s 30th anniversary of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) with the Chair, Hoesung Lee, emphasizing the Panel’s relevance:

 

 

The IPCC has been instrumental in advancing climate action by presenting the scientific evidence on climate change. To celebrate such a rich history and discuss the role of science for climate action the All4TheGreen – Mobilizing Climate Science series of events was organized by the Connect4Climate program of the World Bank Group and the Italian Ministry for Environment, Land and Sea.  

 

 

At the oldest university in Europe, Hoesung Lee revealed that the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report will differ from the previous assessments by propounding a “scientifically robust and clear link between climate action and economic development.” While the Sixth Assessment study is not due for publication until 2019 much of the discussion on the day focused on achieving the targets of the Paris Climate Change Agreement, to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and the interlinkage between climate action and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. 

 

 

To a capacity audience of students, academics, thought-leaders, government, civil society and business representatives, Italian Minister of Environment, Land and Sea, Gian Luca Galletti, highlighted the All4TheGreen message:

 

 

Ibrahim Thiaw, deputy executive director of UNEP and assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, emphasized that “as climate change continues to galvanize it threatens the most fundamental human rights,” thereby linking climate impacts to exacerbating poverty and enhancing climate-induced migration. “Climate change is putting pressure on the resources, and creating conflicts,” he elaborated, encouraging global leaders act: “World leaders can make life-changing decisions and those will be remembered.”

 

Discussants painted a clear picture, that climate impacts are being felt more often and are increasing in severity, and that more needs to be done to transition to a low-carbon resilient future. Public awareness of climate science and the need to act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build resilient societies was presented as a necessary pre-requisite for global leaders to enhance their climate commitments. According to the speakers there is an urgent need to immediately reduce carbon emissions, change the way we produce food and use it, educate for climate solutions, create technology for carbon disposal, protect the oceans from plastics and other waste, and enhance environmental services to build a green future. 

 

Climate action is urgent. “There is no time to waste” emphasized Deo Saran, Fiji Ambassador and Special Envoy to the UNFCCC, who also emphasized the need for unity as symbolized by the slogan of COP23: Uniting for Climate Action – Further Faster Together. To address climate change, immediate collaborative action between governments, businesses, cities, academia and civil society is needed to achieve the Paris Agreement goals.

 

“Yes, we can. We can achieve the Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius,” noted Myles Allen, professor of the University of Oxford, but it will take a huge accelerated global effort and will also require carbon-uptake solutions to be deployed at scale. “The fossil fuel industry is a tenth of the global economy. If they had to, they could solve the climate problem. Instead they’re privatizing profit and socializing risk,” Allen emphasized.

 

 

To close the day’s discussions a diverse group of young people mainly from developing countries took the stage with a message for sustainable peace: “For me there is nothing scarier than scientific data. How do we combat climate everywhere?” one young person emphasized in an emotionally-laden speech:

 

 

In closing Abdullah Mokssit, from IPCC, advised, “let's transform climate change into climate opportunity,” a recommendation supported by Giulia Braga, Connect4Climate program manager, who believes that “climate change is an issue but also an opportunity for present and future generations.”

 

 

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