SCAR releases Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment Decadal Synopsis (ACCE) Report

The accompanying infographic to the Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment Decadal Synopsis (ACCE), illustrating key messages from the report

SCAR has collaborated with scientists across the globe to produce the Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment Decadal Synopsis (ACCE). The report summarises a decade’s worth of research, providing a concise compiled synopses of current understanding, explicit recommendations for actions to address change, and recommendations for additional research.

An animation (see below) and a set of illustrated infographics highlighting key messages from the report have been produced to accompany the report. The set of infographics to accompany the report are available from here.

The full report is available to download from the SCAR library. 

The report’s summary as follows: 

“Scientific evidence is abundantly clear and convincing that due to the current trajectory of human-derived emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases, the atmosphere and ocean will continue to warm, the ocean will continue to acidify, atmospheric and ocean circulation patterns will be altered, the cryosphere will continue to lose ice in all forms, and sea level will rise. 

While uncertainties remain about various aspects of the Earth System, what is known is beyond dispute. The trends, based on observations and confirmed by modelling, will accelerate if high rates of CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions continue. 

The IPCC AR6 WGII Summary for Policymakers (SPM D.5.3) unambiguously emphasises this conclusion: The cumulative scientific evidence is unequivocal: Climate change is a threat to human well-being and planetary health. Any further delay in concerted anticipatory global action on adaptation and mitigation will miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all. 

Human influence on the climate is clear, with observed changes in the climate and in greenhouse gas concentrations unequivocally attributable to human activities. 

Human-induced climate change has caused extensive negative impacts, including losses to people and to nature, some of which are irreversible, such as the extinction of species. 

Climate change is increasingly exacerbating the impact of other human-caused effects on nature and human well-being, and the impacts are expected to grow with increasing climate change magnitude. 

Observations, modelling and global assessments describe significant changes in Antarctic physical and living systems, both marine and terrestrial. 

Changes in Antarctic and Southern Ocean environments are linked to and influence climate impact drivers globally. 

The most significant potential influence of Antarctica’s changes will be on global mean sea level change and its influence on society and nature in all coastal regions of the globe. 

Further global impacts influenced by Antarctic change include extreme climate and weather events, droughts, wildfires and floods, and ocean acidification. These impacts cause ecosystem disruption and loss of biodiversity beyond the Antarctic region. 

Under current projections, and without nations meeting the Nationally Determined Contributions of the Paris Climate Agreement, the rate of global change will outpace societal, political, and economic responses that will facilitate adaptation and strengthen resilience to the impacts of climate change. 

The agreements of the Antarctic Treaty System will not escape these influences. Rapidly changing Antarctic and Southern Ocean environments require similarly rapid environmental governance responses, including potential changes to agreements that have previously taken many years to reach. Impacts of climate change are also likely to challenge geopolitical relations in regions outside the Antarctic, in turn influencing relations within the Antarctic Treaty System. 

Past global arrangements and isolated responses have been ineffective in addressing cross-boundary challenges that require an Earth System approach. Research conducted in the Antarctic and Southern Ocean regions, and strong policies developed from its results, are critical for the development of an integrated Earth System approach and the discernment of a path to a sustainable future for the planet. 

Cooperative and coordinated international responses are required to address critical research needs in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. In turn, receptive Antarctic governance is needed to use the knowledge generated by the research to create effective policy and decisions. Enhanced investment in science will provide policymakers and planners with more comprehensive and coherent sets of information over time to help put in place timely, scalable adaptation and mitigation strategies. Investment in new science and technology that provides updated information on the likelihood of major drivers of climate risk will more than repay itself. 

Science communication and education in partnership with other cultural and societal actors is essential to enable further appreciation of the value of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean for current and future human well-being, for biodiversity, and for the interdependence of humans and nature.

To limit further change, immediate and deep emissions reductions are required across all sectors. 

Effective action is now more urgent than it has ever been. “

Reference: 

Chown, S.L., Leihy, R.I., Naish, T.R., Brooks, C.M., Convey, P., Henley, B.J., Mackintosh, A.N., Phillips, L.M., Kennicutt, M.C. II & Grant, S.M. (Eds.) (2022) Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment: A Decadal Synopsis and Recommendations for Action. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, Cambridge, United Kingdom. www.scar.org

Friday 16 December 2022