2021 REPORTS AND PAPERS

U.S. STILL A PART OF THE PARIS AGREEMENT

President Biden signed an executive order on January 20, 2021 to rejoin the Paris Agreement, formally rejoining on February 19, 2021.

THE WMO REPORT

In May, the World Meteorological Organization published its annual report . It said that four key climate change indicators – greenhouse gas concentrations, sea level rise, ocean heat and ocean acidification – set new records in 2021. This is yet another clear sign that human activities are causing planetary scale changes on land, in the ocean, and in the atmosphere, with harmful and long-lasting ramifications for sustainable development and ecosystems.

UN IPCC REPORT

On August 9, the first volume in landmark Sixth Assessment Report from the IPCC “issued its latest and most dire assessment about the state of the planet, detailing how humans have altered the environment at an “unprecedented” pace and cautioning that the world risks increasingly catastrophic impacts in the absence of rapid greenhouse gas reductions.” As reported in the Washington Post, “this landmark report, compiled by 234 authors relying on more than 14,000 studies from around the globe, bluntly laid out for policymakers and the public the most up-to-date understanding of the physical science on climate change. Released amid a summer of deadly fires, floods and heat waves, it arrived less than three months before COP26, a critical summit in November, where world leaders faced mounting pressure to move more urgently to slow the Earth’s warming. 

The sprawling assessment stated that there is no remaining scientific doubt that humans are fueling climate change. That much is “unequivocal.” The only real uncertainty that remains, its authors said, is whether the world can muster the will to stave off a darker future than the one it already has carved in stone.”

REPORT FROM NOAA

Also in August, the latest revised version of the NOAA State Climate Summaries was released. The interactive website provides a wealth of information on how climate change will affect each American state. The summaries present observed and projected changes in temperature, precipitation and sea level for each state, with key message takeaways and detailed data and figures. 

FYI: NOAA produces monthly and annual climate reports, impressive for their immense scope, detail, and readability. These reports include national overviews, analyses of temperature and precipitation, overviews of billion-dollar climate disasters, and regional highlights. 

REPORT ON REPORTS

In May, Michael Svoboda writing for Yale Climate Connections, published a piece outlining 12 reports “on what the U.S. can do on climate.”  Perhaps Net Zero by 2050: A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector released by the International Energy Agency, is the one you should read first. It is both demanding and optimistic.