IPCC special report proves dramatic risks of climate change

Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze: "The report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC Special Report)... shows that climate protection is a question of existence for us humans. Climate change is endangering our food supply and livelihoods. Agriculture and forestry are victims of this development, but they are also important causes and thus part of the solution in climate protection. The way humanity manages the land can protect or harm the climate. The report shows us that climate protection in agriculture and forestry is feasible and at the same time brings social, economic and environmental benefits. The upcoming reform of EU agricultural support is a good opportunity to set the right incentives in Europe for more climate protection in agriculture."

Dr. Georg Schütte, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research: "Thanks to the support of the German government, Germany has a strong scientific voice in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Science reminds us to take the results of many decades of research seriously. The consequences of the drought last year and this year show us, even in our latitudes, that we need to use modern technologies to manage natural resources on land sustainably. But what we can do today will not be enough. In the long term, we need further scientific efforts to breed drought-resistant plants, for example, or to develop food chains that lead to lower post-harvest losses. This is often only possible through international cooperation, as our BMBF centers of excellence on climate change and land use in western and southern Africa demonstrate."

Alarming consequences

The report shows that almost a quarter of current man-made greenhouse gas emissions are due to land use, including forestry and agriculture. At the same time, the terrestrial biosphere acts as a natural greenhouse gas sink because nearly 30 percent of anthropogenic CO2 emissions are sequestered by vegetation and soils.

Consequences of climate change are already demonstrable. With increasing global warming, negative impacts on crop yields, food supply, food prices and water availability are to be expected. Serious risks could arise from vegetation loss and species extinction, increased forest fires, soil and coastal erosion, and increased thawing of permafrost soils.

There are effective measures that simultaneously counteract climate change and land degradation. These include sustainable land and forest management as well as measures in the food system, such as reducing food waste and less resource-intensive diets.

Rapid action reduces the risk of irreversible impacts on food security and on terrestrial ecosystems that are critical to human well-being. The costs of climate change impacts would far exceed the costs of rapid climate action in many areas.

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