Leading Scientists Name 10 Essential Climate Issues for COP27

In many parts of the world, societies and ecosystems are already facing limits to climate change adaptation. "As global temperatures rise, adaptive responses become less effective," the authors write, and even effective adaptation measures will not be able to stave off all loss and damage. Mitigation efforts, the authors say, are "critical to avoid widespread breaching of adaptation limits," and ambitious adaptation plans are urgent.

Countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change have a climate-driven hazard mortality rate 15 times higher than the least vulnerable countries, the authors note. Today about 1.6 billion people live in highly vulnerable areas across Africa, Asia, Central America and the Middle East — and the number is expected to double by 2050.

"These regions are subject to multiple sources of stress and have less capacity of response as environmental frailty merges with social vulnerability," Bustamante says. Prioritizing international agreements that protect carbon sinks and biodiversity hot spots is one of the ways to deal with the problem, the authors write.

Climate change is already affecting human, animal and environmental health across the globe and is responsible for almost 40 percent of the world's heat-related deaths. It will continue to drive an increase in wildfires and outbreaks of waterborne and vector-borne diseases. Countries should consider the cost of inaction and readjust their budgets to make sure they can tackle climate-health vulnerabilities and invest in adequate prevention, the authors suggest.

Extreme weather events are already forcing vulnerable groups to move across the globe, and migration will increase as communities lose their capacity to adapt. The authors suggest that policymakers shift from a reactive response (dealing with emergencies once they have taken place) to an anticipatory approach, which involves long-term planning and management.

Climate change can trigger violence by deepening already existing conflicts and vulnerabilities. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, the authors write, has revealed food and energy vulnerabilities associated with a dependency on fossil fuels. The authors suggest that scaled responses to conflict, involving regional, national and international institutions, are required.

Deforestation associated with agriculture is a major contributor to climate change, while at the same time, the effects of a changing climate are putting agricultural activity at risk. Effective national policies supporting the transition to more sustainable and resilient land management practices are among the key actions to smarter and better land use, the report suggests.

Most of today's sustainable finance practices, the authors point out, are all too familiar. Capital is used within existing business models instead of being used in new and effective ways to tackle climate change. The financial sector is simply not moving at the speed the world needs to have real action on climate change.

One way decisionmakers can address the issue, the report suggests, is by developing strong policies and regulations that demand "high levels of transparency and accuracy in the reporting of the emissions associated with investments, savings and economic activity."

As infrastructure is threatened by extreme events and regions cede territory to rising sea levels, losses and damages associated with climate change are already a reality in many parts of the world. Some losses, the authors point out, can be calculated in monetary terms, but "there are also noneconomic losses and damages that need to be better understood and accounted for." The report suggests that the world develop a coordinated global policy response to the challenge.

As climate change will affect all individuals one way or another, everyone should have a say in the choices that will affect their future. Inclusive decision-making, the authors write, "has been shown to lead to better and more just climate outcomes." Policies supporting the development, assessment and expansion of community-led initiatives are effective ways to address climate justice.

The gap between national pledges and emissions reductions required by the Paris Agreement is widening, the report warns. The world is stuck on social norms that prioritize continuous consumption and on business models that privilege nonstop production. One of the ways to break away from these structural barriers, according to the report, is to create and implement legal instruments to address inequality and injustice.

This article by Eos is published here as part of the global journalism collaboration Covering Climate Now.