Sierra Club Statement On IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report

INTERLAKEN, SWITZERLAND -- Today, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its synthesis report for the sixth assessment cycle, which is the most comprehensive analysis of climate data in IPCC history. Among the report’s findings, it concludes that:

• Remaining below 1.5 degrees Celsius is still possible, but only if the world, specifically the world’s largest polluters, reduces carbon emissions by 43 percent by 2030 and halts all carbon pollution by the early 2050s.
• Current climate targets put us on a 2.8 degree Celsius trajectory by 2100. 
• Nearly 3.6 billion people are now considered climate vulnerable. 
• The effects of the climate crisis are not being felt evenly across the US or the world. The countries and communities that have contributed the least to creating the problem are the ones feeling the harshest effects of the climate crisis. 

The next set of IPCC reports will not be released for at least another five years, meaning the data from AR6 is the final information from the IPCC that will be available while we still have a chance to stay below the 1.5 degree Celsius global temperature threshold.

Earlier this month, the Biden Administration approved one of the largest oil and gas extraction projects on public land - ConocoPhillips’ Willow project. It is estimated that once operational, the Willow project will  emit nearly 300 million metric tons of carbon pollution. The Sierra Club joined with Indigenous partners and other environmental groups to challenge the approval in court.  One day after the Willow project approval, House Republicans introduced HR1, their top priority bill, that would exacerbate the climate crisis, perpetuate environmental injustices, and undermine US economic and national security by prolonging reliance on risky and volatile energy sources. The bills would also undermine bedrock environmental laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act, by short-circuiting permitting processes and limiting valuable public input.

In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous issued the following statement: 

“The world’s foremost scientists have told us everything we need to know about how catastrophic the climate crisis already is and what the consequences will be if we fail to meet our collective goal. The 1.5 degree Celsius guideline is not just a target - it is the threshold upon which our collective survival depends. 

“Each time the Biden Administration approves a fossil fuel project like Willow or politicians propose legislation that gives handouts to the fossil fuel industry, they push us ever closer to the point of irreversible and catastrophic damage. Science tells us it is not too late to save ourselves and future generations and we have the tools and information we need to avert climate catastrophe, but it requires a political will we have yet to see from the world’s biggest polluters. The question then ultimately is whether President Biden, Congress, and world leaders are up to the challenge of protecting our environment and our humanity or will they fail the ultimate test? 

“We at Sierra Club - along with the most vulnerable frontline countries and communities - know that failure is simply not an option. We must transition to a clean energy economy, we must put an end to the fossil fuel industry, and we must protect our planet for generations to come.”