Ahmedabad University Professors Dr. Priyadarshi Shukla and Dr. Minal Pathak, Global Centre for Environment and Energy, are among authors of IPCC’s ‘The Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5ºC’ The Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5ºC, released in Incheon, Republic of Korea on October 08, 2018, provides key scientific inputs to the upcoming meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Katovich, Poland in December, when governments review the Paris Agreement to tackle climate change.
Ninety-one authors and review editors from forty countries, among whom were two of Ahmedabad University’s professors, prepared the seminal Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report in response to an invitation from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change when it adopted the Paris Agreement in 2015. Ahmedabad University's Professor Priyadarshi R. Shukla, holds the distinction of being the Co-Chair of Working Group No. 3 of the IPCC, along with his responsibilities at the Global Centre for Environment and Energy. Professor Minal Pathak serves as a Senior Scientist, Technical Support Unit of Working Group III (Mitigation) of the IPCC.
The report highlights a number of climate change impacts that could be avoided by limiting global warming to 1.5ºC compared to 2ºC, or more. These include loss of the Greenland ice-sheet, sea level rise, impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity and human health among others. It covers pathways available to limit warming to 1.5ºC and what would be needed to achieve them. It finds that limiting global warming to 1.5°C would require “rapid and far-reaching” transitions in land, energy, industry, buildings, transport, and cities.