Climate and Biodiversity– a comparison between IPCC and IPBES

Ulf MolauDept. of Biological and Environmental Sciences

Göteborg University, Sweden

Synopsis

• A quick chronology• IPCC• CBD and IPBES• The comparison

Brief chronology

Where it all started:

1972: Stockholmthe first global environment conference

The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (UNCHE)

1988• IPCC

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

• First assessment report (1990)• SAR 1995• TAR 2001• AR4 2007• AR5 2013-14• AR6 ca. 2021

1992• The Rio Conference

COP-1

• The ”Rio Declaration”• Agenda 21 (on sustainable development)

• UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

• CBD Convention on Biological Diversity

2005

• The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA)

• Highlighting ”Ecosystem services”• Based on the ”ecosystem approach”

Intergovernmental science-policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem

Services IPBES

Established April 2012 (Panama City)

From science to policy-making

Scientific data and reports (incl. “grey literature”)

IPCC IPBES

SBSTA SBSTTA

UNFCCC CBD

IPCC

IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) 2013-14

• WG I The Physical Science Basis (Sept 2013)• WG II Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability• WG III Mitigation of Climate Change• Synthesis Report - Summary for Policymakers

(October 2014)

IPCC AR5

WG2 reportMarch 2014

“Impacts on environment and society”

IPCC AR5 WG2 structure

Chapters:1. Point of departure2. Foundations for decisionmaking3. Freshwater resources4. Terrestrial and inland water systems5. Coastal systems and low-lying areas6. Ocean systems7. Food production systems and food security8. Urban areas9. Rural areas10. Key economic sectors and services

IPCC AR5 WG2 structure

Chapters:11. Human health12. Human security13. Livelihoods and poverty14. Adaptation needs and options15. Adaptation planning and implementation16. Adaptation opportunities, constraints, and limits17. Economics of adaptation18. Detection and attribution of observed impacts19. Emergent risks and key vulnerabilities20. Climate-resilient pathways

IPCC AR5 WG2 structure

Chapters:21. Regional context22. Africa23. Europe24. Asia25. Australasia26. North America27. Central and South America28. Polar Regions29. Small Islands30. Open OceansSummary for Policymakers

IPCC special reports

SREX 2012 (on extreme events)

IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC) 2017-2019

CBDThe UN convention on biological diversity

The 2011-2020 Strategic Plan

including the “Aichi Biodiversity Targets”

5 strategic goals and 20 targetshttp://www.cbd.int/doc/strategic-plan/2011-2020/Aichi-Targets-en.pdf

Nagoya 2010 (CBD COP-10)

• The 2020 Aichi Targets• The Nagoya Protocol (ABS)• TEEB final report (The Economics of Ecosystems &

Biodiversity)

Aichi Targets

Five main strategic goals:A. Awareness (targets 1-4)B. Maintenance (targets 5-10)C. Safeguarding (targets 11-13)D. Enhancing (targets 14-16)E. Capacity building (targets 17-20)

Items under CBD at present• Global Strategy for Plant Conservation• Global Taxonomy Initiative• Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS)• Traditional ecological knowledge (art 8j)• Ecosystem services• Biofuels• Invasive species• Biodiversity and Climate Change• Forest biodiversity• Agricultural biodiversity• Marine and coastal biodiversity

Items under CBD at present• Mountain Biodiversity• Arctic Biodiversity• Small islands biodiversity• Biodiversity of arid and semi-arid areas• Ecosystem restoration• Protected areas• Incentive measures• Global Biodiversity Outlook

IPBES

The 4 functions of IPBES:

• 1. Assessment• 2. Knowledge generation• 3. Policy relevant tools and methods• 4. Capacity building

Assessments:

• Thematic• Regional• Global

Thematic assessments:(ongoing, 2015–2017)

• Pollinators, pollination and food production• Land degradation and restoration• Invasive alien species and their control• Sustainable use and conservation of

biodiversity

Regional assessments:(ongoing, 2015–2018)

• Africa• The Americas• Asia and the Pacific• Europe and Central Asia

IPCC AR5 WG2 structure

Chapters:21. Regional context22. Africa23. Europe24. Asia25. Australasia26. North America27. Central and South America28. Polar Regions29. Small Islands30. Open OceansSummary for Policymakers

IPCC vs. IPBES

SimilaritiesIPCC - IPBES

• Science and scientist driven• Bottom-up approach• Collating, evaluating, and synthezising• Policy advisory, not policy descriptive

Dissimilarities and unresolved items

IPCC - IPBES

• Definition of regions• The global assessment• Involvement of ILK• Lack of established liason IPCC-IPBES

From science to policy-making

Scientific data and reports (incl. “grey literature”)

IPCC IPBES

SBSTA SBSTTA

UNFCCC CBD

Thank you!