IHACC investigators contribute to IPCC report, “Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability”

The impacts of climate change on ecosystems, biodiversity, and humans are detailed in the Working Group II’s contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report. IHACC investigators Drs. Lea Berrang-Ford, Sherilee Harper, Mark New, and James Ford all contributed to this report, which emphasizes the importance of immediate action in response to the unequivocal evidence of the contributions of human activities to climate change. 

“Human influence on the Earth’s climate has become unequivocal, increasingly apparent, and widespread, reflected in both the growing scientific literature and in the perception and experiences of people worldwide” 

Figure 1 from Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability (2022) shows the pathways and consequences of differing levels of climate resilient development. The window of opportunity for climate resilient development is currently narrowing, and action is required now.

Read more in the report, accessible here. 

CITATION

IPCC, 2022: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press. In Press.

IHACC Team Members Publish on Climate Change Adaptation, Equity, and Justice

Congratulations to multiple IHACC team members including: Shaugn Coggins, Lea Berrang-Ford, James Ford, Ingrid Arotoma-Rojas, Sherilee Harper, and co-authors on their publication, “Empirical assessment of equity and justice in climate adaptation literature: A systematic map.” This article published in Environmental Research Letters, systematically explores how concepts of equity and justice are understood and defined within climate change adaptation research.

Access the online article here.

Figure 2 from Coggins et al (2021) provides a summary of the evaluative rubric used, and how articles scored.

CITATION

Coggins, S., Berrang-Ford, L., Hyams, K., Satyal, P., Ford, J., Paavola, J., ... & Harper, S. (2021). Empirical assessment of equity and justice in climate adaptation literature: a systematic map. Environmental Research Letters, 16(7), 073003.

IHACC Student, Paola Torres Slimming, successfully defends her PhD!

Congratulations to Paola for successfully defending her PhD! Paola’s dissertation titled, “Water Security in Indigenous Shawi Communities from the Peruvian Amazon: Using an Ecosystem Approach to Health” explores the current state of water security through Shawi observations. This work highlights the importance of water to livelihoods and health, and reveals how interactions between climatic and non-climatic factors contribute to water insecurity. Results from this work identify key considerations for progress towards the sustainable development goals.

IHACC Peruvian students share experiences on research and Indigenous collaboration

Three Peruvian students were interviewed about their participation and experiences with Indigenous collaboration in research. The students discuss themes including collaboration, trust & communication, knowledge systems, and share lessons learned that are foundational to all IHACC work. 

Video created by: Tiana Bressan, with thanks to Andrea Valdivia and Valeria Morales Ancajima for assisting with translations and transcriptions.

Music Credits 

Art of silence by uniq

https://soundcloud.com/uniqofficial/

Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

Wanderlust by Scott Buckley | www.scottbuckley.com.au

Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Health Canada’s National Climate Change Assessment Report Released

IHACC investigator, Sherilee Harper co-led a chapter in the recently released Health Canada report titled, Health of Canadians in a Changing Climate: Advancing our Knowledge for Action. This report assesses health risks of climate change to Canadians, to ensure effective measures are taken to protect health now and in the future. 

9 key takeaway messages include: 

1. Climate change impacts the health of Canadians now

2. Risks increase as warming continues: the greater the warming, the greater the threats

3. Impacts are inequitably & unjustly distributed

4. Climate change already impacts our health system & impacts will increase

5. Preparing for climate change reduces risk & protects health: We must act NOW

6. Climate change impacts on Indigenous Peoples’ health are inequitably high

7. To prevent health impacts of climate change, decision makers must take adaptation actions that are inclusive & equitable

8. Increased efforts to reduce emissions are urgently required to help protect the health of Canadians

9. Reducing emissions can provide very large and immediate health co-benefits to Canadians

Access the report here. 

CITATION

Berry, P., & Schnitter, R. (Eds.). (2022). Health of Canadians in a Changing Climate: Advancing our Knowledge for Action. Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada