Forests: 5 Lessons from the IPCC AR6 synthesis

On Monday, March 20, the IPCC releases the summary of its sixth assessment report, which is a summary of the more than 10,000 pages of work it has published since its last synthesis at the end of 2014.

At MORFO, we wanted to share with you the main conclusions related to forests. The good news is that FSC France , part of the Forest Stewardship Council , had already done some preliminary analysis work, with a focus on forests.

Five key takeaways from the IPCC's 6th Assessment Reports

Here are the 5 main takeaways along with some additional information:

1?? Forests, especially tropical forests, will be heavily impacted by climate change in the short term. Thus, "ecosystems that have already reached or exceeded their adaptive limits include some tropical forests." Let us remember that these forests are natural carbon sinks!

2?? Adaptation to climate change must take into account biodiversity and human societies in a systemic way, rather than solely focusing on carbon capture and storage. We need to consider the impact of climate change on all living organisms and communities, and find ways to adapt to these changes in a way that is sustainable and equitable for everyone.

3?? Responsible forest management, as well as the conservation and restoration of ecosystems, are major challenges that need to be addressed. We need to find ways to manage forests in a way that is sustainable and does not harm the environment, as well as find ways to restore ecosystems that have been damaged by human activity.

4?? Cooperation and inclusive decision-making with local communities and indigenous peoples, as well as recognition of their inherent rights, are integral to the success of forest adaptation in many regions. In our latest newsletter, we provided an example of a great initiative where 50 Indigenous women from the United States, Canada, and Australia gathered in Karuk, California to participate in the first all-female, all-Indigenous camp focused on training and learning about the restoration of fire to the land. Karuk is one of California's largest tribes and suffered significant losses during the Slater Fire in 2020, including 150 homes and two lives, one of which was an elder.

5?? Despite the difficulty, achieving the 1.5°C warming targets by 2100 is still possible if we act today. We must take action now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and invest in carbon sequestration solutions, as well as find ways to adapt to the effects of climate change in a way that is sustainable and equitable for everyone.

Some reminders about the IPCC and the synthesis of the 6th report

The IPCC releases the final part of the Sixth Assessment Report, the Synthesis Report. IPCC reports are based on scientific facts from the analysis of over 500,000 scientific publications from around the world. This latest report synthesizes the essential data and information contained in the reports of the three Working Groups of the 6th Assessment Report:

• Working Group I (WG I): the physical science basis of climate change, released on August 9, 2021,
• Working Group II (WG II): impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability, released on February 28, 2022,
• Working Group III (WG III): mitigation of climate change [feasible solutions, i.e., policy options and measures to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, socio-economic costs of these options, released on April 4, 2022.

This synthesis report includes a short summary for policymakers of about ten pages and a complete report of about fifty pages. The text of the synthesis report is written in accessible and non-technical language, intended especially for policymakers (within national governments), administrations, and policy advisors, as well as other experts, NGOs, and journalists. It is important to note that IPCC experts carry out this analysis work voluntarily.