Report from the IPCC's 6th report
- Olivia J Mathai
- Nov 11
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 14
By: Olivia M
The infographic below summarizes the 13 key points of the new IPCC report. To put it plainly: the news is not good. It is an undeniable and unequivocal fact that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, oceans, and land, driving 100% of global warming. Rapid and widespread changes have occurred across the entire climate system—in the atmosphere, oceans, cryosphere (ice and snow), and biosphere. These recent shifts and the current state of many aspects of the climate system are unprecedented for several centuries to several millennia.
The Scale of Human Impact
The rate of climate warming due to human activity is unprecedented in at least 2,000 years, with the last 10 years being 1.1°C warmer compared to the 1850-1900 period. This influence can be observed by comparing the actual measured warming with models that only account for human factors.
The massive scale of recent emissions highlights this crisis: Since the publication of the first IPCC report in 1990, 1 trillion tonnes of CO2 have been emitted, accounting for almost half of all emissions since the beginning of the entire industrial era.
Observed and Intensifying Consequences
Human-induced climate change is already affecting many extreme weather and climate events in all regions of the world. Evidence and attribution of human influence on extreme events—such as heat waves, heavy rainfall, droughts, and tropical cyclones—have strengthened significantly since the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5).
With continued warming, each region could experience more extreme weather events, including combined events where multiple hazards occur simultaneously or in close succession (e.g., a heat wave followed by megafires, as seen in Canada in June 2021). The likelihood and intensity of these combined events increase significantly with higher levels of warming, especially beyond the 1.5°C threshold.
The magnitude of change is reflected in the natural world: Over the last three millennia, sea levels have never risen as rapidly as they have since 1900.
The Future Trajectory and Irreversible Changes
Future temperature evolution is described by the IPCC using five different socio-economic pathways (SSPs). A key finding is that, in all emissions scenarios except the lowest (SSP1-1.9), the global warming threshold of +1.5°C will be exceeded in the near future (between 2021 and 2040) and remain above this level until the end of the century. Even the most ambitious scenario projects reaching 1.5°C in the 2030s before peaking at +1.6°C and falling back to 1.4°C by 2100.
Moreover, if CO2 emissions continue to increase, oceanic and terrestrial carbon sinks will become less effective at slowing the accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere. Many changes driven by past and future greenhouse gas emissions are irreversible for centuries, even millennia. This includes changes in the oceans, ice sheets, and global sea level. Mountain and polar glaciers are doomed to melt for decades or centuries, and the release of carbon from permafrost through thawing is considered irreversible over a 1000-year timescale. The report also includes analysis of tipping points—less likely events such as abrupt changes in ocean currents (e.g., AMOCs) or ice sheet melt—which cannot be ruled out and would have devastating consequences.
The Imperative of Mitigation
Limiting global warming to 1.5°C is no longer possible without an immediate and large-scale reduction in GHG emissions. To limit warming and mitigate the severe consequences of climate change, strong, rapid, and sustained action is needed to reduce emissions of CO2, methane, and other greenhouse gases. A positive consequence of this action would also be the improvement of air quality.
The good news, supported with greater certainty than in previous reports, is that if we achieve carbon neutrality, global warming should stop. While many changes are irreversible, some can be slowed and others stopped by limiting global warming. Improvements in estimates of the remaining carbon budget—a simplified way to assess how much CO2 can still be released—reinforce the urgency of immediate and profound emissions reductions.
DT Master Carbon's Role
DT Master Carbon is essential in the current climate state because the world is already experiencing record-breaking, accelerating climate change—with 2024 being the warmest year on record and global temperatures pushing dangerously close to the 1.5°C threshold. The platform offers a critical, integrated solution to this crisis, moving organizations beyond simple compliance to deep decarbonization and proactive resilience. Its use of frugal GenAI and its Carbon Cloud platform provides the high-fidelity, auditable data necessary to track all three scopes of emissions, align corporate strategy with urgent Net-Zero goals, the CCBP platform and manage the inseparable risks of climate change, biodiversity loss and water simultaneously, transforming the digital footprint into a verifiable, sustainable action plan for a resilient future.
Sources: