{"id":3871,"date":"2021-08-13T15:51:52","date_gmt":"2021-08-13T15:51:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.350.org\/pittsburgh\/?p=3871"},"modified":"2022-05-05T14:01:35","modified_gmt":"2022-05-05T14:01:35","slug":"the-ipcc-report-is-grim-but-theres-room-for-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.350.org\/pittsburgh\/the-ipcc-report-is-grim-but-theres-room-for-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"The IPCC Report is Grim, But There\u2019s Room for Hope"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Christian Morris, Climate X Change, Aug. 12, 2021<\/p>\n

This week, the U.N.\u2019s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change<\/a> (IPCC) reaffirmed what scientists, advocates, and scholars have been telling us for years: our planet is in dire straits, and human activity (the burning of fossil fuels) is \u201cunequivocally<\/a>\u201d the cause. This first phase, called Working Group I, of the IPCC\u2019s Sixth Assessment Report<\/a> (AR6), covers the physical science of climate change and the state of our climate right now. The IPCC assessments, which are compiled by top scientists and experts on a volunteer basis<\/a>, go through a rigorous review process and are subject to public comments ahead of finalization. They are some of the most significant pieces of international climate science to date.<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

IPCC reports often gain a lot of media attention, which is good and bad. Good because it can help communicate the latest findings around climate science and the need to act, but bad in that it demonstrates the continual gaps in our climate communications. Many headlines on articles frame the new AR6 as a \u201ccode red for humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s true that action on the climate crisis is needed now more than ever, the message of \u201ccode red\u201d only perpetuates the climate alarmism that we know doesn\u2019t help solve the problem<\/a>. It works against us. While the report itself does well in terms of messaging strategies, the media still has a ways to go in both messaging and covering these climate events. The media is inundated with IPCC coverage, but news outlets often don\u2019t regularly cover climate change<\/a> at all. Emily Atkin writes in her recent HEATED newsletter<\/a>, \u201cIf this is the only day we communicate climate science to the public, it\u2019s no wonder people don\u2019t understand the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additional Resources<\/b><\/h2>\n

IPCC reports are hard to digest, and this article doesn\u2019t go nearly as in-depth on the report as many others. Below is a small resource hub, which is meant to provide additional readings and threads on the IPCC report, ways to take care of yourself, and pathways for immediate action.<\/p>\n

The Report<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n