The IPCC report is a stark warning: harnessing collective action will be key to securing a liveable future
By Stephen Hale, Chief Executive, Climate Catalyst
The latest report from the world’s leading climate science body - the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - offers policy makers around the world a blueprint for change.
Its latest synthesis report - the final part of its sixth assessment report - shows us how we have already permanently changed the planet, and warns that the window for opportunity is fast closing to secure a liveable future.
Without urgent action, scientists warn, hundreds of millions of people will be left exposed to extreme heat waves, food systems will collapse, economic turmoil with ensue and natural systems will collapse.
These warnings are not new. They are a stark reminder of what is at stake.
But the IPCC also offers a path forward and sets out the speed and scale of the action needed.
Changing the course of our climate will not be easy. We need to make deep emissions cuts, now, and rapidly phase-down fossil fuels.
This will require decisive shifts in the political climate at the national level. To achieve this we need to bring new voices and influential stakeholders together to demand change and secure action on the issues that matter.
This is our mission at Climate Catalyst.
The release of the IPCC’s report is an important moment. Without this clear science, it would be far easier for the opponents of climate action to spread doubt and confusion. And we must be under no illusion: our opponents are well-resourced and well-organised.
Fortunately, the community of organisations dedicated to accelerating action on climate is immense and growing. But we can’t be complacent. We still need to grow this movement, and use our collective impact to ensure climate action reaches every sector.
While there are some examples of great collaboration we are often still less than the sum of our parts. At Climate Catalyst we focus our efforts on using collaboration to drive change on specific and complex issues.
We focus where there is the greatest opportunity for collaboration to achieve impact. We tackle urgent issues that, traditionally, have had less attention. And we build campaign strategies collectively with others in the climate community, and beyond, understanding that our impact depends on the range and depth of the relationships we build.
We are still a new organisation. Our first year (2022) was one of growth, learning and impact.
We want to share this learning with you, in our 2022 Annual Review.
The review looks at how we built our model (based on three simple steps - consult, convene and campaign) and how we used this thinking to develop our first two campaigns: steel decarbonisation in Asia and peatlands restoration and protection in Europe.
On both these campaigns our focus has been on mobilising new actors and aligning the incredible work of our partners to achieve policy change.
Take our work on steel, for example. Seen as a difficult sector to decarbonisation, there was little effort to build collaborative strategies. We focused our attention on three of the top six steel-producing countries: India, Korea and Japan. We worked with The Climate Group, JCLP, SFOC, CDP, TERI and other partners to build strong public and private demand signals for low-carbon steel, to stimulate the low-carbon investment we urgently need. We’re delighted by the growth in partner engagement and the positive shift in the Indian government during 2022, as the report outlines.
In Europe, meanwhile, we focused on the Nature Restoration Law - a historic opportunity for Europe to set binding targets to protect and restore nature, including our hardest working climate champions, peatlands. Working with Corporate Leaders Group Europe and other partners, we helped to bring the voice of business into this conversation, and continue to use their voice to drive ambition within the European Council and Parliament.
The report also includes our learning. This is one of our core values, critical to our success and partnerships. We will use what we learnt last year, both the good and the bad, to shape our work into 2023 and beyond. We hope that by sharing our learnings in this report, others can also take something from our experience.
So what is next for us?
We’re all living through immensely turbulent times. 2022 saw the start of the Ukraine conflict with huge humanitarian, political and economic implications, and the continued disruption and deeply unequal impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is more important than ever we come together to navigate this turbulence and shape the future.
We will continue to draw inspiration and hope from the breadth and scale of our movement, from the work of our partners, and from the new friends we will make in 2023.
While our current campaigns continue we’re now having conversations on our next topics, including sustainable aviation and cooling buildings in Europe. If you want to get in touch to discuss our approach, our current or our future work then please do email stephen@climatecatalyst.org. Together we can realise our vision of a just and prosperous world.