In recent weeks, the IPCC released the last two documents of Report 5 related to adaptation and mitigation of climate change.
At the end of 2013, the first document of this report was released and reinforced the findings of its previous report from 2007: climate change is a reality. If it is a reality and if it is indeed ongoing, the right questions for society to ask are 'how are we going to deal with it?' and 'how are my life and my business affected by this new scenario?'. This is the focus of these last two reports released in late March and early April on how we adapt to and mitigate climate change.
Scientists are already warning that the worst is already underway, with temperatures rising by more than 2°C. Glaciers are already melting, which will affect the availability of drinking water for many communities. The oceans are warming and becoming more acidic, and the impact will be not only rising sea levels but also the loss of marine biodiversity. Agriculture, water resources and ecosystems are being impacted. Economic sectors and human health are also being affected.
And how does society adapt to this new global reality? Although the impacts are felt by everyone, countries are vulnerable to different degrees. Governments need to identify the weak points of their economies and understand that the impacts are directly related to the country's economic composition, the existence of infrastructure and income distribution. The worse these indicators are, the greater the impact and the greater the economic, social and environmental losses.
In the case of the private sector, the impacts vary from sector to sector, from business to business. We already understand that the way to deal with climate change and adapt to it is through the application of risk management methodologies. Identifying risks and planning responses to them involves decision-making. And this process, in turn, will change the risk of climate change in the 21st century, as highlighted in the IPCC documents. The known risks to this process are only those already observed and highlighted in the IPCC report itself and other scientific documents. However, it is still unknown how far this process will go, how intense these risks will be, and the impact on human life. There is no time to wait any longer. We have to act. And the great challenge is how to adapt to this new global reality.
