What You Need to Know About the New IPCC Report to Drive the Necessary Transformation

Released in late February, the report by Working Group 2 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) painted an alarming picture of what the future will look like without urgent action to curb global warming. Overall, the document shows that the impacts are occurring at a faster rate than previously projected. 

Based on its analysis of the document, ApplyBrasil suggests some priorities for developing action strategies in the Brazilian context:

Urban Adaptation

Context: While large urban areas are one of the most significant causes of global warming, they will also suffer the consequences more rapidly and intensely. Cities such as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro act as heat islands and will experience temperature increases even greater than the average. Extreme events—such as water shortages and devastating storms—will become increasingly frequent. 

Challenges: 

• Strengthen data-driven urban planning: foster networks of scientists and invest in solutions developed from the perspective of those directly affected; 
• Communicating through science: a partnership between science, the media, and civil society organizations to foster a public debate that drives the development of public policies;
• Regionalize tactics to create strong groups that can offer greater resistance to the dismantling of federal policy. 

Opportunities: 

• To engage the public in the structural transformation of Brazil’s major cities by improving quality of life; 
• Investment in community groups in outlying areas that can discuss the occupation of high-risk areas and press for action to address the infrastructure deficit;
• Campaigns that promote a vision of post-pandemic life featuring greater interaction with the city and a focus on air quality and mobility.

Production Arrangements

Context: There is a close and undeniable link between climate issues and social inequality. Improving income distribution in Brazil is a key strategy for alleviating pressure on the environment, as it directly contributes to combating deforestation, regulating land use, reducing pollution, and restoring degraded areas. 

Challenges: 

• Prioritize climate racism and environmental justice and expand investment in projects that give visibility to new voices in the community;
• Translate the concepts of local productive arrangements: topics such as “healthy eating” make more sense to people living in urban centers. People do not understand the concept of socio-biodiversity. 

Opportunities: 

• Communication and engagement campaigns that promote local culture and cuisine. 
• Establish direct links between people’s involvement with the issues and improvements in their individual lives. Answer the question: What do they gain from this?

Combating Deforestation

Context: The debate over “illegal” versus “legal” deforestation no longer makes sense. We must take immediate action to combat deforestation of any and all kinds. It is Brazil’s largest source of carbon emissions. The IPCC report shows that the planet’s average temperature has already risen by 1.1°C compared to pre-industrial levels and warns that a 1.5°C increase would lead to a sharp rise in irreversible damage to biodiversity and human life on the planet. In other words: the window of opportunity to reverse this situation is closing.

Deforestation and wildfires in the Amazon could transform the rainforest into savanna regions, causing a drastic reduction in rainfall—about 40 percent. The reduced flow of the so-called “flying rivers,” which carry moisture and rainfall from the Amazon to the central and southeastern regions of the country, will exacerbate the water crisis.

Challenges: 

• Strengthen the legal and judicial mechanisms that combat corruption and illegal activity. 
• To deepen our understanding of sustainable economic alternatives for communities living in regions under intense pressure, such as the Cerrado and the Amazon.
• Promoting a new model of cities integrated with nature.

Opportunities: 

• Combine technology with communication campaigns that promote transparency in land management and use, as well as in the supply chains of critical sectors such as livestock and soy.
• Promoting public monitoring of the Amazon and all biomes to create indicators that facilitate the engagement of different social groups.
• Awareness campaigns that hold the financial and industrial sectors accountable for making a strong commitment to ending deforestation. 

Research Support

Context: Brazil is facing a trend of scientific data being devalued. Many projects aimed at producing information and indicators do not receive sufficient funding or institutional support. When it comes to environmental and climate issues, the reliability and timeliness of data are essential for developing assessments such as those produced by the IPCC. 

Challenges: 

• Scientifically grounded research on climate and environmental issues, guided by various sectors and values—such as religion, conservative or progressive groups—that offers further insights into how to take action.

Opportunities: 

• Translate data from the IPCC and other complex studies using approaches that are more relatable to people’s everyday lives, such as humor and satire, videos, documentaries, photography, and art. 
• Present the data through more human-centered examples. Today, more than 29 million people live in the Amazonian states—these people need to be seen and heard.

About the IPCC

Created in 1988 by the United Nations (UN), the IPCC brings together hundreds of scientists from all over the world who analyze reliable data to assess a range of phenomena—such as heat waves, rising sea levels, species extinction, and the intensification of extreme events—and the consequences of all this for humanity. It is estimated that 3.6 billion people—45% of the Earth’s population—live in areas that are highly vulnerable to climate change.

By providing a comprehensive and scientifically grounded analysis, the report serves as an important resource for organizations and professionals working in the socio-environmental field to develop action strategies—both in the effort to reduce global warming and in addressing climate change.