Jofre Carnicer, spokesperson at an international press conference to contextualise the IPCC Synthesis Report 2023 on climate change

The Synthesis Report of the 6th assessment of climate change presented today by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) on the global actions needed to reverse global warming has previously generated several meetings with the international press. The aim is to provide context and answer questions from journalists about the work of the IPCC and its reports, and how it affects the action of governments around the world.

Jofre Carnicer has highlighted the irreversible impact of some extreme weather phenomena and the loss of biodiversity due to the increase in extreme temperatures.

CREAF researcher, professor at the University of Barcelona and author of IPCC Working Group 2 (WGII) Jofre Carnicer recently took part in one of these press conferences, in this case organised by the World Resources Institute (WRI), in collaboration with the Global Strategic Communications Council, aimed at American and European journalists to provide a scientific view of the report. The meeting was recorded and is also available to the specialised press.

Jofre Carnicer emphasised the irreversible impact of some extreme meteorological phenomena, the loss of biodiversity, and the growing risk of extinction of local populations of species, among others. And he insisted that the most vulnerable people and ecosystems are disproportionately affected: “3.3 to 3.6 billion people live in contexts that are highly vulnerable to climate change”. His closing remarks were eloquent, if familiar: "Once again, the reports recommend drastic and imminent emission reductions and mitigation actions this decade".

The coexistence between the IPCC reports and the upcoming COP28, the usefulness of carbon budgets and the scenario of reducing emissions while maintaining oil production have been some of the questions asked by journalists.

During question time, some of the journalists' queries revolved around the coexistence between the IPCC reports and the upcoming COP28, the usefulness of carbon budgets and the scenario of emission reductions in which oil production is maintained.

The event was also attended by Piers Forster, director of the Priestley International Centre for Climate, professor at the Leeds University (United Kingdom) and also IPCC author; Taryn Fransen, Senior Fellow at the WRI, co-author of the United Nations Environment Programme's Emissions Gap Report and expert on international climate change policies, and David Waskow director of the International Climate Initiative at WRI, with a long career in global change.

This sort of international press conference aims to provide key insights into the work of the IPCC's experts from 195 countries, who review the existing scientific literature on global warming and its consequences.