The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report highlights the urgent need for low GHG intensive options to tackle climate change. Some of these options include balanced, sustainable, and healthy diets, food waste reduction, adaptive heating, and cooling for thermal comfort, integrated building renewable energy, electric light-duty vehicles, shifts to walking, cycling, shared pooled, and public transit, and sustainable consum
ption by intensive use of longer-lived repairable products.
The deployment of Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) is unavoidable. However, the impacts, risks, and co-benefits of CDR deployment for ecosystems, biodiversity, and people should be considered. Vegetation and soil management CDR is more prone to reversal than CO2 stored in geological and ocean reservoirs. Therefore, there is a need for counterbalancing ‘hard
-to-abate’ residual emissions.
The report also emphasizes the need for accelerated and equitable climate action. Inequalities in the distribution of emissions and impacts of mitigation policies within countries affect social cohesion and the acceptability of mitigation and other environmental policies. Eq
uitable access to finance considering ethics and equity is crucial. Mitigation efforts embedded within the wider development context can increase the pace, depth, and breadth of emissions reductions.
Climate governance is another crucial aspect that needs attention. National policies to support technology development are necessary, and financial flows need to match the levels needed to achieve mitigation goals. Governments and the international community need to send clear signals, and there needs to be stronger alignment of public sector finance and policy.
The report highlights that the effects of climate change mitigation on global GDP do not account for damages from climate change nor adaptation costs. Therefore, linkages between mitigation, adaptation, and sustainable development need to be established for a comprehensive approach to tackling climate change. The report concludes that transparent GHG accounting and standards, demand management, materials, and energy efficiency policies, and R&D for low emission materials and products are necessary to achieve climate goals.