US2 | Climate emergency, human agency: making sense of the current state of scientific knowledge on climate change to strengthen climate literacy
Climate emergency, human agency: making sense of the current state of scientific knowledge on climate change to strengthen climate literacy
Convener: Carlo Laj | Co-convener: Jean Luc Berenguer
Programme
| Mon, 15 Apr, 08:30–10:15 (CEST)
 
Room E1
Programme
Mon, 08:30
Vimeo: US2 – Climate emergency, human agency
Climate science now unequivocally states that human activities have caused the global warming that is observed to date. This state of knowledge builds on centuries of scientific advances in the understanding of the climate system, from multiple lines of evidence - observations, theory, process understanding, and numerical modelling. This presentation will build on key findings from the Sixth Assessment Cycle of the Intergovernemental Panel on Climate Change, and place the current scientific understanding in this context of climate science history, and lay out what is the current state of climate, with the observed intensification of global and regional changes, and what are physically plausible futures, unpacking how science underpins the understanding of the climate emergency. We will encompass the scientific understanding of human influence on the global carbon cycle and sources and sinks of greenhouse gases, of human influence on observed climates (attribution), and insights from past climate evidence (paleoclimatology). We will explain how advances in the understanding of the Earth system are crucial to inform climate action through the understanding of current and future changes in global and regional climatic impact-drivers, as a function of human influence and global warming levels, and through the understanding of the geophysical constraints for halting global warming, in particular the specific roles of cumulative emissions of carbon dioxide and short-lived climate forcers. Finally we will provide a physical climate science perspective on the current state of climate action, following the outcomes of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 28th Conference of Parties (COP28).

Monday, 15 April 2024, Room E1, 08:30 > 10:15

This Union Symposium will build on key findings from the Sixth Assessment Cycle of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It will place the current scientific understanding in this context of climate science history and lay out what is the current state of climate, with the observed intensification of global and regional changes, and what are physically plausible futures, unpacking how science underpins the understanding of the climate emergency.

After a short presentation of the session we'll present the two Invited speakers:

Valérie Masson-Delmotte, Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, IPSL, France

&

Joeri Rogelj, Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College, London, Great Britain

Then, after two 25-30 minutes presentations by the speakers, there will be about 45 minutes of questions by the public.

Session assets

Programme: Mon, 15 Apr | Room E1

Chairpersons: Carlo Laj, Jean Luc Berenguer
08:30–08:35
5-minute convener introduction
08:35–09:05
Valérie Masson-Delmotte - Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat - Paris - France
09:05–09:35
Joeri Rogelj, Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College, London, Great Britain
09:35–10:15
Questions / Discussion