Lunchtime roundup: UK media coverage of the IPCCs Working Group 2 report
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report on the impacts of climate change today. Cue something of a media frenzy.
Fortunately, we’ve read the key coverage so you don’t have to.
Easy reads
The IPCC’s authors have just spent a week finalising the language on a summary of the report, known as the Summary for Policymakers. If you’re looking for an easy summary, here’s a few to choose from:
- We’ve done a summary for everyone, as well as going through and picking out the key messages along with three intriguing charts: looking at the overall impacts, species endangerment, and climate change’s effect on crops.
- The Guardian summarises five key points from the report: Looking at food threats, human security, economic inequality, temperature changes, and what the IPCC recommends we do about it.
- Greenpeace’s EnergyDesk has been through and pulled the key quotes from the summary.
- The Telegraph bullet points the key regional impacts, looking at the challenges posed by climate change, and adaptation options identified in the report .
Threatening society
One of the main messages across a number of articles is that climate change will affect everyone, everywhere in one way or another.
- The BBC says the impacts could be “overwhelming”. It says that while humans may be able to handle some of the the changes, the report points out that there are limits to societies’ ability to adapt.
- The Independent says the impacts of climate change are “potentially immense”, and the IPCC’s report shows countries are “ill prepared” to deal with them. Climate change could mean a world becomes beset by “war, famine and pestilence” unless policymakers start to address the risks, the article argues.
- The Telegraph takes a different angle, reporting one of the IPCC co-chairs, professor Chris Field, as saying people should “look on bright side of climate change”. He told journalists yesterday that while the IPCC “couldn’t find very many benefits of climate change”, there could be opportunities for businesses in areas such as clean energy and transport as countries seek to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change.
Food security
A number of headlines focused on what the IPCC says about climate change’s impact on food production – one of the main new items in today’s report, the papers say:
- The Guardian’s front page says the IPCC’s report suggests “climate change has already cut into the global food supply and is fuelling wars and natural disasters”. Policymakers need to start to address issue quickly, otherwise climate change (combined with poverty and economic shocks) could lead to war and drive people from their homes, the Guardian argues.
- The Financial Times looks specifically at what climate change means for maize and wheat production. It points to a passage in the Summary for Policymakers that says recent food price rises could have been partly due to climate change.
What it means for the UK
The UK press were particularly interested in what the IPCC says the impacts of climate change could be for the UK.
- On Sunday, energy and climate change secretary Ed Davey called the IPCC”s report “an incredibly robust piece of science”, in the Observer. He said the UK had an obligation to lead efforts to tackle and adapt to climate change, saying that to not do so would be “deeply irresponsible” in light of the report.
- The Independent on Sunday‘s frontpage focused on climate change’s impact on British woodland. The report outlines how drier summers and droughts could damage the UK’s forests, it says.
- The Metro‘s frontpage says Britain could face more flooding as a consequence of climate change. The IPCC identifies the UK as one of the countries most at risk from surging river levels, the Metro says.
- Channel 4 follows a similar line, saying water is now the UK’s “biggest threat”. The IPCC’s report says winter storms could become more powerful and tidal surges could increase, Channel 4 says.
- Zooming in, The Times Scotland looks at the climate change’s potential impact on Scotland’s wildlife. The IPCC says seabirds, coastal landscapes, woodland and mountain wildlife are all under threat, the paper says.
Editorials and comment pieces
Not all the coverage has been news focused. A number of papers ran editorials and comment pieces looking at the wider implications of the IPCC’s report.
- A Daily Telegraph editorial says the IPCC’s report makes for “sobering” reading, showing policymakers now need to seriously consider how to help countries adapt to climate change. It says that while the “science appears unarguable”, what to do about the impacts of climate change remains a matter of “fierce” debate.
- The editorial follows a piece in the Sunday Telegraph where former archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, argued that the rich world is “pushing the environment towards crisis”. He argued that while adapting to climate change may be an option in rich countries like the UK, it wasn’t so easy in the world’s poorer countries which are expected to be hit the hardest.
- On the Guardian’s blog, Graham Readfearn says the IPCC’s report makes “dire” reading for anyone concerned about climate change. He runs down the key warnings from 25 years of IPCC reports.
- The Economist says that while the report is “profound”, it’s findings need to be looked at in the context of wider global problems. It says the IPCC has made strides in toning down the ‘apocalyptic’ language, while getting the message across that the potential impacts of climate change are serious.