Rachel Warren and Jeff Price of Tyndall Centre UEA and Richard Dawson at Tyndall at Newcastle University have played major roles in the (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group 2 Sixth Assessment Report, both directly as authors and indirectly through the insights of their peer- reviewed research. IPCC Working Group II assesses the vulnerability of socio-economic and natural systems to climate change, negative and positive consequences of climate change and options for adapting to it.
Professor Rachel Warren is a Lead Author of the Chapter on Key Risks Across Sectors and Regions (Chapter 16), and led the development of the synthesis diagrams known as the ‘burning embers’ figures. Burning embers shows how impact risk grows with increasing levels of global warming.
“Very high risks emerge for unique and threatened systems and extreme weather events over the range 1.2 to 2C global average warming. Limiting global average warming to 1.5C would limit many risks to a moderate level, and would keep the level of risks from extreme weather in the high category, as opposed to the very high one” said Rachel Warren, who in addition is a Lead Author on the Summary for Policymakers and the Technical Summary.
Dr. Jeff Price is a Lead Author of the Cross-Chapter Paper about Biodiversity Hotspots and climate change, and is responsible for the data behind Figures CCP1.1, Figure CCP1.4, and Table SMCCP1.1.
“The report for the first time examines biodiversity hotspots and the impacts on terrestrial biodiversity on Small, and not-so-small, islands. The window for taking action is closing fast and unless action is stepped up there will be major impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems around the world” said Jeff Price.
Jeff is also a Lead Author of Terrestrial and Freshwater Ecosystems and their Services (Chapter 2) and responsible for Figure 2.6 and 2.8. Jeff is a Contributing Author of the Chapter on Africa (Chapter 9) helping underpin Figure 9.19; Chapter 13 (Europe), contributing the data behind figure 13.9 and Table SM13.2; Chapter 15 (Small Islands) contributing Table 15.3; and Chapter 16 (Key Risks and Vulnerabilities).
Professor Richard Dawson, at the School of Engineering at Newcastle University is a Lead Author of Cities, settlements and key infrastructure (Chapter 6) and a Coordinating Lead Author of the Cross-Chapter Paper: Cities and Settlements by the Sea.
“The evidence shows how nature-based interventions used in combination with more traditional hard engineering are most effective at managing the risks of climate change in urban areas. However, the report also provides new evidence of how interconnections between infrastructure, human and natural systems create complex risk pathways – around the world adaptation planning that brings together communities, business, government and third sector organisations are shown to be the most successful. Given the long lifetime of our built environment it is absolutely crucial we ensure all our actions embed climate resilient design and thinking from the outset” said Richard Dawson.
Rhosanna Jenkins,, a Tyndall Centre Visiting Fellow and former PhD researcher at the Tyndall Centre UEA is also an author of Chapter 16. “Restoring ecosystems and protecting nature can reduce risks and help us adapt, but the effectiveness of this and other adaptation options declines with increased warming, underlining the importance of swift action” said Rhosanna Jenkins.
Read the IPCC WG2 report here.