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The catastrophic impacts of climate breakdown may soon outpace humanity\u2019s ability to adapt<\/a> to it, according to a new report.<\/p>\n Co-authored by 270 researchers from 67 countries, the latest report from the UN\u2019s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)<\/a> describes \u201can atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment of failed climate leadership,\u201d according to secretary general Ant\u00f3nio Guterres: Half of the world\u2019s population is threatened by water shortages; extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe; and more than 14 percent of the world\u2019s species are at high risk of extinction as global temperatures rise.<\/p>\n \u201cThis IPCC report marks a turning point in the fight against climate change,\u201d Conservation International CEO M. Sanjayan said in a statement. \u201cIt forces us to reckon with a stark reality. The crisis is here, and it is all around us.\u201d<\/p>\n And this is just the beginning. If climate breakdown continues to accelerate, \u201cmany parts of the world could soon face limits in how much they can adapt to a changing environment,\u201d reports The New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n The report\u2019s bleak findings beg the question: Will humanity continue to edge toward a dangerous precipice or take a crucial step back to avert climate catastrophe?<\/p>\n In more than 2,000 pages, the report lays bare the inequities inherent in the climate crisis, stressing that the communities most vulnerable to climate impacts are also the least to blame.<\/p>\n Between 2010 and 2020, droughts, floods and storms killed 15 times as many people in highly vulnerable countries, particularly in Africa \u2014 which is responsible for less than 3 percent of global emissions<\/a> \u2014 than in the wealthiest countries, the report finds.<\/p>\n \u201cThe new IPCC report is a wake-up call for immediate climate action and climate justice,\u201d said Shyla Raghav, Conservation International\u2019s vice president of climate strategy. \u201cIt confirms that vulnerable communities across the globe are already facing the consequences of human-caused global warming \u2014 including reduced crop yields, migrations and humanitarian crises, and deterioration of mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Raghav, the response from the global community to these impacts has been \u201cwoefully inadequate.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOnly 5 percent of global climate funding has ever gone to adaptation,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s time for developed countries, philanthropists, and the private sector to step up and provide financial support for the communities that are suffering the brunt of climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n World leaders are set to gather in November for theUnited Nations climate summit (COP27) in Egypt<\/a> to discuss how to slow climate change and help countries adapt to the impacts it\u2019s already inflicted.<\/p>\n \u201cLooking forward, the upcoming global climate change negotiations will be a watershed moment for elevating adaptation within the global climate agenda and generating the much-needed resources to address the staggering financing gap,\u201d Raghav said.<\/p>\n While the report stresses the critical importance of cutting emissions to slow climate change<\/a>, it also recognizes that some impacts are already \u201cirreversible\u201d \u2014 from rising sea levels<\/a> to widespread wildfires<\/a>.<\/p>\n Incremental measures to adapt to climate breakdown \u2014 such as building sea walls or early weather monitoring systems \u2014 are no longer going to cut it, according to the report\u2019s authors. Instead, countries must implement \u201ctransformative changes,\u201d shifting where and how people build homes, grow food, produce energy and conserve nature.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need transformative change at every level of our society,\u201d Sanjayan said. \u201cThat means jettisoning society\u2019s current methods and habits of consumption. It means putting more of our best and brightest minds on solving these issues.\u201d<\/p>\n A Conservation International study lays out some of the additional ways society can make these transformative shifts<\/a> in the face of climate change, such as helping communities relocate after a storm rather than trying to build back along the shoreline.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t just keep putting band-aids on the problem,\u201d Raghav said. \u201cIt\u2019s time to take a more radical approach by rethinking how we build resilient societies to prevent more human suffering in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the report, one of our greatest allies for adapting to \u2014 and mitigating \u2014 climate change is nature.<\/p>\n \u201cToday\u2019s report repeatedly calls out the role of nature as a key solution,\u201d Raghav said. \u201cInvestments in nature, can bolster the resilience of ecosystems and communities alike, and support the long-term economic and societal transformations that are required to limit future losses and damages.\u201d<\/p>\n A 2017 study by led by Conservation International\u2019s Bronson Griscom found that nature can help provide nearly a third of the emissions reductions<\/a> needed to stay below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) of temperature rise. Additionally, nature can help buffer coastal communities<\/a> from sea-level rise, maintain water supplies<\/a> during droughts, and cool cities and rural areas<\/a> during heatwaves.<\/p>\n Moreover, experts say protecting nature by reducing deforestation and restricting the global wildlife trade can help prevent the next pandemic<\/a>. The IPCC report urges \u201cinterventions that reduce pandemic and climate change risks while enhancing compound resilience, social justice and biodiversity conservation.\u201d<\/p>\n Though the report\u2019s findings are dire, \u201cnature and the resilience of the human spirit gives us hope for the future,\u201d Raghav said.<\/p>\n \u201cMoving forward, there are a couple of key actions that can help us tackle the climate crisis, biodiversity loss and pandemic prevention simultaneously. We must mobilize funding to help vulnerable communities adapt to climate impacts, expand protections for our forests and oceans, and elect leaders \u2014 at local and national levels \u2014 who are ready to make the radical changes necessary to secure a healthy future for our planet.\u201d<\/p>\n Kiley Price is the staff writer and news editor at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? Sign up for email updates<\/a>. Also, please consider supporting our critical work<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\nClimate injustice<\/h2>\n
Transformational adaptation<\/h2>\n
A sliver of hope<\/h2>\n
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